Conversations with the Collection

Aleksander Danko and Cathy Xu

ALEKSANDER DANKO

Aleksander Danko is a key figure in the development of Conceptual Art in Australia. Conceptual Art champions idea over object and in 1970 artist and writer Ian Burn offered the following succinct conclusion on Conceptual Art: "Once one understands that art is not in objects but in the completeness of the artist's concept of art, then the other functions can be eradicated and art can become more wholly art".

Danko is interested in both word play and in inverting the utility of an object. Air off the top of my head 1975 consists of altered chairs in varying states of deconstruction. This work plays with scale, creating an absurdist environment for the audience. The letters ‘ch’ are carved into the seats of the chairs, recalling school room phonics and the challenge of acquiring language.

CATHY XU

Bird house: Homage to Honeywill, Hall, Le Corbusier and Casebere
Sculpture
Sydney Girls High School

These works reflect my interest in traditional mosaic techniques and the mechanics of woodwork, by combining found and constructed objects and adopting aspects of Honeywill’s diverse practice in exploring the concept of ‘home’. Inspired by Hall, I have used fragmented duck eggshells to allude to the fragility and impermanence of Nature in the face of the intervention of man-made constructs. The sculptural book incorporates Le Corbusier’s philosophies on architecture, influencing my approach in arranging images for the camera, simultaneously appropriating Casebere’s postmodern practice as he manipulates the setting to create abstract shadows, patterns, lighting and textures in his photography.