Jessica Rankin | Field of Mars
Australian born, and New York based artist Jennifer Rankin returns to Australia with Field of Mars, a lyrical series of codes and constellations that form psycho-geographic maps.
Presenting new work comprising of large-scale embroideries, as well as collages and works on paper, the exhibition is inspired by the Rankin’s last trip to Australia in 2014. Visiting her mother’s burial site, aptly named Field of Mars cemetery outside of Sydney, this encounter inspired a revisitation of her mother, poet and playwright Jennfier Rankin, and her ongoing influence in Rankin’s visual language.
Throughout Field of Mars the textual arrangements and word collages created by the artist are composed and recomposed using chance methodologies. Embroidering abstract landscapes, Rankin creates psycho-geographic maps that stem from her recollections and internal experiences. Layered with codes and constellations, the works are embedded in memory and a dialogue with the self.
Exploring her personal connection and experience of the landscape, Rankin captured the compistiion of the sky on dates of particular significance. A personal narrative, the watercolours and drawings of black and white landscapes are a commonality that the viewer can relate to.
This engagement with natural phenomena and the self led Rankin to study astronomy as well as poetic interpretations in astrology. As such her works inspire to engage with nature on the full spectrum from the land, the sky and the stars.
Delicate and to the point, Field of Mars is an intriguing insight in Rankin and her ongoing engagement with nature.
EXHIBITION
Jessica Rankin | Field of Mars
27 July – 27 August
Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne
Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne
Kon Gouriotis: How did you come to be working with the Yinhawangka community? Pedram Khosronejad: My journey to working with the Yinhawangka community has...
The Art Gallery of South Australia’s (AGSA) Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art has seen real competition over the past two decades, as other institutions have...
Michael Vale views colonialism as the elephant in the room when it comes to Australian history and Australian art. He observes that through a strange...
(for Michael Petchkovsky) You passed so quickly, it pulled the oxygen out of the air Drawing sorrow in behind you, like a myst Burning...
While most of Hobart is asleep, Maggie May Jeffries is crawling around in her backyard nasturtiums with a torch, finding inspiration in the intricate details...
i make it so that that every place i live is my home so i put my bed on the wall closest...
after Gbenga Adesina The first text message was sent as the year closed. Before that, red-faced men stood and demanded translation. They wanted us...
Evie Adasal always wanted to paint, but she hesitated. “I graduated from art school in the ‘90s in photography and film,” she recalls. “When I...
Frank was born in Singleton, New South Wales in 1959, and has been represented by Roslyn Oxley9 since 1982—a relationship that spans more than four...