vivonne thwaites
curator
sue kneebone
Time tales, 2011 (series of 6)
Fur and mixed media
14cm w x 50 cm l
Time tales suite (four elements), 2011
fur and mixed media
Photo: the artist
detail
Time tales is a suite of works that lies somewhere between myth and memory from frontier landscapes. They are cameo portraits of unsettled memories irrecoverably lost through the visceral separation of time, circumstance and death. The finery of feral fur mixed with the roughness of native seed pods are material impressions from a past when my colonial settler family history wandered out of place into an others’ land.
statement
Central to Sue Kneebone’s studio practice is the transformative process of bricolage and photomontage which allows for new associations to be made by tinkering with the fragmented clues and mnemonic triggers from ancestral photographs, archival material and found artefacts. These processes enable a mythopoetic approach by creating new connections between the materials. Her intention is to draw the viewer in to consider more insidious subtexts such as disturbed ecologies from colonial incursions. A combination of field trips and archival research have fostered in her a deeper understanding of the inherited and ongoing legacies of white settler pastoralism.
biography
Since completing her Masters in Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2000, Sue Kneebone has been engaging in site specific art installations in response to various urban and regional environments in Australia. These have been temporary interventions allowing for encounters with the public extending beyond the traditional boundaries of the gallery space. Sue’s process of working involves a particular emphasis on learning about the cultural habitat of place including narratives of human interference and environmental degradation. Sue Kneebone’s recent PhD project at the South Australian School of Art focused on researching historical narratives in relation to the pastoral frontier of the Gawler Ranges in the north west of South Australia with which her forebears were intimately connected. Her exhibition Naturally Disturbed at the SASA Gallery in 2010 was in collaboration with the South Australia Museum where artefacts from the Gawler Ranges region were exhibited alongside Sue’s reflective responses to the social and environmental ramifications of this pastoral history. Sue has exhibited recently at the Art Gallery of South Australia and national exhibitions have included regional environmental art projects. Her work has been collected by the Art Gallery of South Australia and is in private collections. Sue is the 2011 South Australian recipient of the Qantas Contemporary Art Prize and recently received an Australia Council grant for new work. In 2011 Sue was invited to exhibit in Washington DC at the Australian Embassy.
Born: 1963, Sydney, Australia
| Education | |
| 2010 | Doctor of Philosophy, South Australian School of Art, University of SA |
| 2000 | Master of Fine Art, Victorian College of the Arts |
| 1998 | Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), Victorian College of the Arts |
| 1986 | Bachelor of Science, Flinders University of SA |
| Exhibitions | |
| 2010 | The New New, CACSA, The Gallerie, North Terrace, Adelaide |
| Naturally Disturbed, SASA Gallery, UniSA, Adelaide, SA (solo) | |
| SALA Festival, Art Gallery of South Australia | |
| Border Crossings, Visual Arts exhibition for theHuman Rights Arts & Film Festival, Format Space, Adelaide | |
| Art West, City West Campus, UniSA, Adelaide | |
| 2009 | Adaptation, Murray Darling Palimpsest satellite exhibition, Palmer, SA |
| 2008 | Angelfire, Felt Artspace, SA |
| Seedling Art Space, Hawthorndene, SA (solo) | |
| Terra Spiritalis, Murray Bridge Art Gallery, SA | |
| Palmer Sculpture Biennial, Palmer, SA | |
| Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize, Melbourne, Vic | |
| 2007 | City of Hobart Art Prize, Hobart Art Gallery and Museum. |
| 2x20 Studio Show, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne. | |
| 2006 | My Reality, Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre, Vic |
| World Year of Physics Art Prize, Macquarie University Art Gallery, NSW. | |
| 2005 | Axes Art Space, Melbourne |
| Undercurrent, site specific workshops & exhibition for Warrandyte Festival. | |
| 2004 | Re>Growth, temporal public art work curated by Redlands Art Gallery, Qld. |
| Smorgon Steel Contemporary Art Prize, Customs Wharf Gallery, Williamstown, Vic. | |
| Undercurrent, site specific environmental art installation on Yarra River, Warrandyte, Vic. | |
| ‘Bedrock’, ephemeral installation, McClelland Gallery. Langwarrin, Vic | |
| International Women’s Artists Association Exhibition, Manningham Gallery, Vic. | |
| Toorak Village Sculpture Festival. Toorak, Melbourne, Vic | |
| 2003 | Strand Ephemera, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Qld |
| Broken Hill Outback art prize exhibition, Broken Hill Regional Gallery, NSW | |
| Toorak Village Sculpture Festival. Toorak, Melbourne, Vic | |
| Stony Creek Environmental Art Event. Maribyrnong, Vic | |
| Hearing Place, curated by Ros Bandt. Yarra Sculpture Space, Melbourne, | |
| Passage: CSA St. Kilda Botanical Gardens, Melbourne. | |
| Artscapes: Sustainable Living Festival. Federation Square, Melbourne. | |
| 2002 | Environmental Acts: Maroondah Art Gallery. |
| Race to Create: Nillumbik Ephemeral Art Prize, Vic. | |
| Contemporary Sculptors Association @ St Kilda Botanical Gardens, Melbourne. | |
| A Melbourne Summer, Urban Art Bus Shelter, Flinders St., Melbourne | |
| 2001 | The Floating Land: International Site Specific Art Laboratory, Noosa, Qld. |
| The Lie of the Land, Gabriel Gallery, Footscray Community Arts Centre | |
| Stockpile, Linden Contemporary Art Gallery, St Kilda (solo) | |
| The Keith & Elisabeth Murdoch Travelling Fellowship Exhibition, VCA | |
| Recent Graduates, Emerging Artists, Arts Victoria, Melbourne. | |
| Mildura Palimpsest, #4, Mildura, Victoria. Large outdoor installation on landscape. | |
| ANZ Fellowship Art Award Exhibition, ANZ Collins St, Melbourne. | |
| 2000 | Parlourama, Latrobe Street Gallery, Melbourne (solo) |
| Journey into Eccentricity, Montsalvat, Melbourne. | |
| Hermanns Art Award, Mornington & Span Galleries, Victoria | |
| 1999 | Hatched: National Graduate Show, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art. |
| Edge: Victorian Ceramic Group, Kidigo Arthouse, Fremantle. | |
| Australian Art and the Vietnam Experience, ADFA Library, Canberra. | |
| War, Myth & Memory, Victorian College of the Arts Gallery | |
| 1995-1998 | Whispers of Identity, Gabriel Gallery, Footscray Community Arts Centre,1998 |
| Honours Exhibition, Victorian College of the Arts Gallery, 1998 | |
| Post Post-card Show, Linden Gallery, St Kilda, 1998 | |
| Epoch, Yume Ya Gallery, Melbourne, 1996 | |
| 19th Walker Ceramic Award, Westpac Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre, 1995 | |
| Fresh! Craft Victoria Student Award Exhibition. 101 Collins Street. 1995 | |
| Awards | |
| SASA Postgraduate Research Travelling Scholarship, 2007 | |
| Joyner Scholarship for PhD research in fine arts, SASA, 2007-2010 | |
| 2004, Smorgon Steel Contemporary Art Prize Exhibition. Highly Commended award | |
| 2002, Nillumbik Ephemeral Art Prize, Melbourne, Vic, First Prize. | |
| 1999, Friends of the VCA Grant | |
| 1994 & 1995 Harry Curtis Prize (Victorian College of the Arts) | |
| 1995, Walker Ceramic Award, First Prize (National Graduate Award) | |
| Residencies | |
| Clay alchemy: Cultural exchange, Thailand, 2006 | |
| Artist in Residence, Bundanon, NSW, 2002. | |
| Floating Land Project, International Site Specific Art Laboratory, Noosa, Qld, 2001. | |
| Hydra Studio, Footscray Community Arts Centre, 2001 | |
| Bibliography and citations | |
| Naturally Disturbed, exhibition review by Annika Evans, Eyeline, 72, 2010 | |
| Cautionary Tale, Stephanie Radock, Adelaide Review, May, 2010 | |
| Inland Memories, Sue Kneebone, Naturally Disturbed exhibition catalogue, SASA Gallery, University of South Australia, April 6 – May 7, 2010 | |
| Site Specific Art, Sue Kneebone, Thai Ceramics Journal, Sept-Dec 2007 | |
| Re>Growth..Imag.in.ing Nature, Jessica Campbell, localART,#17, Dec 2004. | |
| From Earth to Art and back to Earth, Jan O’Neill, Art Streams, May/June 2003, p11/12. | |
| Stony Creek Environmental Art Project, Penny Algar, CSA News, May 2003 | |
| Hearing Place Exhibition, Ros Bandt and Ian Mott. CSA News, May 2003. | |
| Hearing Place exhibition, Joel Crotty, The Age, Melbourne, March, 2003. | |
| Living the Lie of the Land, Juliet Peers, Artlink, V22#2, 2002,p63., | |
| Up, Paul Magee, catalogue essay for Environmental Acts, Maroondah art Gallery, 2004 | |
| Lie of the Land, exhibition catalogue, Footscray Community Arts Centre, 2001. | |
| Back To Basics, Tempe MacGowan, Art Monthly, March, 2002, p30. | |
| Lightness Captivates Unwary Park Visitor, Victoria Hobday, CSA News, 6/3/02. | |
| Horns of Dilemma, Yarra Leader, 4/2/02 | |
| Lo Scandaglio, Dec/Jan 2002, Arenzano, Italy. | |
| Floating Art. Vogue Living, Australia, Feb 2002, | |
| Arts Accordian, Arts Victoria, 2001. | |
| Artistic Look at Land and Identity, Melissa Iaria, The Mail, Oct. 2001 | |
| Mildura Palimpsest #4. Artlink, V21 #2, 2001. | |
| Recent Graduates, Emerging Artists. Arts View, Arts Victoria, Vol 2 #2, 2001. | |
| Victoria Adams, Mildura Palimpsest #4, abc.net.au/arts/palimpsest, April 2001 | |
| Provocative Parlour Game, Penny Webb, The Age, December, 2000. | |
| Hermanns Art Award, Peter Timms, The Age, Jan 2000. | |
| Japanese Contemporary Ceramics, Susan Kneebone, The Japan Foundation Travelling Exhibition, VCG Newsletter No. 272, 2000. | |
| Mapping Identity Exhibitionreviewin Craft Vol.29, #238, 1999 , Susan Kneebone, Craft Victoria. | |
| Marea Gazzard: Annual Craft Victoria Lecture. Susan Kneebone, VCG Newsletter, No 261. 1997 | |
| Examining Concepts of Identity, Brimbank Messenger, Sept 1998 | |
| Ceramics Give Vital Insight, Andrew Block,Herald Sun, Dec 1995. | |
| Conference & Seminar presentations | |
| Conciliation Narratives in Settler Societies, National Museum of Australia,November 2010 | |
| Twisting Mirrors: Post-graduate research symposium with Professor Michael Taussig, University of South Australia, 2010 | |
| Poetics Ecologies: Nature as Text and Text as Nature, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, 2008 | |
| Higher Degree by Research Forum, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, UniSA, 2008 | |
| Verge, Panel Presentation “‘process vs product’ making work in response to the environment.” National Ceramics Conference, 14-17 May, Brisbane, 2006 | |
| Collections | |
| Art Gallery of South Australia | |
| Bundanon Trust, Bundanon, NSW | |
| Walker Ceramics, Victoria | |
| Private Collections. | |