Heathcote Exhibition an Insight into Human and TV Motifs

Curator Soula Veyradier said Daniela explored the confines of vision by limiting the contrast in her works and causing the viewer to look carefully to gain insights into the subject. “On the other hand, Pat’s work looks at the way information in the electronic age is manipulated and repeated to influence and incite the viewer. These works, although different in execution, are similar in the respect that they require the viewer to take time to fully appreciate the essential concepts,” she said.

“This exhibition explores the way images are layered and manipulated, using human and television motifs, challenging the viewer to engage and take time to explore the deeper meaning of the works,” she said.

Daniela Dlugocz (South Perth) is a previous Town of Vincent Art Award Winner who has a MA (Visual Arts) from Edith Cowan University. She said her current work involved using the symbol of an egg to discuss the fragility of our life – both in the beginning and the ending. “It will raise questions including: what circumstances we get born into and how much this influences our life; and what chances we have in life,” she said.

“My work analyses the process of seeing and perceiving, physically as well as psychologically. We all have the same physiological faculties to see, and yet, we all perceive differently. My work is always hard to see, remaining veiled at first glance, requiring the viewer to pause for further contemplation until the motif eventually emerges. My drawing technique produces a tone-in-tone picture, where the image emerges from a background of the same colour. I am trying to find new ways of drawing, using a high degree of technical knowledge and experience,” she said.

Pat Thomas (Karrinyup) also has a MA (Visual Arts) from ECU. She said she was researching whether the sheer amount of information to which we were exposed actually made us better-informed or overwhelmed and distracted us. “By retrieving images directly from television, I am examining the inclusion of objects, colours and repetition as signifiers of embedded codes. The images of the planes flying into the twin towers in New York on 11 September 2001 and the consequences, including the war in Iraq, are key examples I am using to illustrate the manipulation of the inherent codes to influence meaning,” she said.

“Text is also manipulated in print and electronic media, exemplified by news headlines, which often bear a scant relationship to the accompanying information. My work examines the influence of electronic media on print media and whether the context alters the content. This is a key focus for my current PhD studies,” she said.

Incite-Insight is to be opened by Dr Christopher Crouch at 6.00pm on Friday, 2 October 2009. Heathcote Museum and Gallery, on Duncraig Road, Applecross, is open 10.00am to 3.00pm Tuesday to Friday and 11.00am to 3.00pm Saturday and Sunday. Phone the gallery on 9364 5666.