The Exhibition is now open at Spectrum Gallery ECU, Mt Lawley, it is also part of the Perth Fringe. Opening night has been moved to Thursday 18th February 2021 (due to Covid) 5 pm – 7pm. Indeed I am grateful to have an opening at all, because at one stage it looked like it may not happen. This is my 10th solo exhibition which seems like a nice round number to end my Masters Study. at Edith Cowan University. This exhibition goes together with the exegesis I have written exploring both the making of the work and the history and symbolism of the story.
In this current exhibition I respond to symbolic aspects of the original Alice in Wonderland text. Using the story to illuminate ideas, relating them to contemporary society and seeing Alice through the lens of self-actualisation. The exhibition includes installation, etching, linocut, artists’ books and an animated drawing.
Drawing this floor onto the wall was a bigger job than I realised being around 7 metres long. The charcoal went onto the wall beautifully and I love the way the finished image can be viewed through the other drawings of Alice Falling on organza fabric which hang in the centre of the space and move gracefully in the breeze. I like the idea of drawing the floor onto the wall, to create a feeling of space, where there is none.
Much of the imagery in this exhibition is concerned with Alice falling. When Alice chooses to jump down the rabbit hole she is making a fateful decision, once the decision is made she must accept the fall that follows, you cannot change your mind mid-jump or mid-fall. In these works I explore the liminal space of Alice falling a place of transition between the familiar knowing of what was and the uncertainty of what comes next. The transparency of the images adds movement as you can look directly through one image to the next. Alice in Wonderland was first published in 1865 but for me it ia a story full of metaphors, that relate to contemporary life. I thing many of us can relate to the idea of jumping into something, without understanding what the consequences will be.
Spectrum Project Space is at ECU 2 Bradford Street Mt Lawley, Perth Western Australia. The exhibition Down the Rabbit Hole by Shana James is open until the 5th of March 2021. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm.
Please join us.