there’s no other news
there’s no other news (drawings for my Dad), 23rd April 2019, exhibiton/performace/series of drawings produced at Harbinger Project Space in Reykjavik, Iceland, mixed media, duration 8am - 8 pm
My parents, mostly my Dad; send me letters. This began when I first left home (Australia), stops when I go home, picks up when I have left for extended periods of time and continues now that I live in Reykjavik. They’re not really letters that are sent but envelopes filled with newspaper articles and handouts about exhibitions they have seen and places they have been; these are always accompanied by a short note. In a letter from Dad on the 11th of July 2018 he wrote to tell me that he had collected these items to send to me and concluded by writing that there was no other news. Later in October of 2018 he opened by expressing his reluctance to start by saying that there was not much going on but told me that as life continues as normal and that there was very little to report, this was followed by some dates for his upcoming travel and the letter was concluded by saying that the letter was: a no news newsletter on a very small piece of paper.
On the 23rd of April at Harbingerm I produced a small series of postable drawings on letter paper for my father, these drawings were be based on notes
I make at the end of every (most) evenings with plans for the next day and aim to inhabit the same spirit as the letters my Dad sends me. The drawings are
the content of an exhibition for my parents that will unravel to them and be gradually installed in their home as the series of posted artworks arrive in Perth, Australia.
I began making the drawings at 8am and the drawings were posted by visitors throughout the day. Harbinger was open to the public during this time.
This project was presented as part of the exhibition series Networking and chilling is the fourth exhibition of the exhibition series Romance and Relaxation at Harbinger curated by Kristín Helga Ríkharðsdóttir, Una Björg Magnúsdóttir, Rúnar Örn Marinósson and Veigar Ölnir Gunnarsson.
For Networking and chilling 12 artists have been invited to produce work in response to a list of 100 items for a given day. Everyone must use at lease one of these items however there is flexibility surrounding what would happen with these items, the addition of any extra elements and the timeframe that the presentation of this would occur within.
Participation in the project was presented on Menning, RUV’s (RUV is the national broadcaster of Iceland) cultural program.
