EXCELSIOR
Hanako Müller, Gabrielle Sharkey, Jedda Bahloo, William Christensen; curated by Audrey Merton
03.05.24 - 13.05.24
Excelsior references the Latin phrase which translates to ‘higher,’ or to strive beyond, always pushing forward, ‘ever upward.’ Using fashion and sculpture as vessels, Excelsior pieces together threads of mythology, literature and process to subvert traditions of artistic work.
An extension of a previous one-object curatorial paradigm, (Re)Contextualised Châtelaine, the exhibition Excelsior is a collection of work by artists and practitioners in Naarm / Melbourne. Considering the urgency placed on ‘emerging’ creatives for continuous production, Excelsior showcases upcoming works while simultaneously critiquing the pressure to strive for excellence.
Jedda Bahloo
Jedda Bahloo is a Naarm based multidisciplinary artist and designer who is passionate about creating social change through fashion, art and textiles. She aims to incorporate elements of waste, modularity, functionality, emotional durability and mending within her work to critique how fashion (the entire industry & mode of production) impacts the world around us. With this in mind, Jedda explores ways in which “sustainability” can be defined, questioning the capacity for ‘sustainability’ to exist within the fashion industry’s current production model. Jedda prefers to utilise scraps and materials that would otherwise be discarded and transforms them into well made wearable garments and pieces of art.
https://www.jeddabahloo.com/
Gabrielle Sharkey
Gabrielle Sharkey studies and practises fashion design in Naarm. Focussed on the underlying magical properties embalmed into fashion through its experiential and intimate relationship to the body, she endeavours to promote emotional durability through the exploration of adaptable and sensorial wear. Sharkey provides opportunities for stylistic play and longevity while honouring the effect of the hand in her fabrications. This is in hopes of creating an overall embellished and personalised feeling for those who wear her designs.
https://www.instagram.com/ole.uckers/
Hanako Müller
Hanako Muller is a female photographic artist currently residing and studying in Naarm / Melbourne. Hanako’s art considers notions of personal placement within physical and social spaces, and explores ways in which still imagery can be used to navigate non-linear and ever-evolving concepts such as memory, influence, identity, and connection. She utilises analogue photographic processes to capture the tactile nature of the medium.
https://www.hanakomuller.com/
William Christensen
William Magnus Christensen is a sculptor who grew up in the coastal town of Walyalup, Western Australia. Corrosive salt spray reduced industrial monuments to skeletal forms and beds of limestone are the foundations and the walls of the architecture that surrounded him. He inverts these landscapes; mooring lines hanging from a foundation as if captured in free-fall; chains, both literal and remembered, shackling its histories and its ports. From these material roots, his current work revolves around cognition: memories, created realities and modes of perception. A tenuous balance: solidity; fragility.
https://www.instagram.com/billmchristensen/
Audrey Merton
Audrey Merton is an emerging curator, writer and arts practitioner based in Naarm / Melbourne. Her curatorial practice is focused on making connections between processes, practices and people.
https://auvbm.cargo.site/
Download the full roomsheet here.
Photography courtesy of Lance Zuniga
Photography below courtesy of Audrey Merton