Jan Donaldson, All the Better to Eat You With, 2016, L.150mm x W.120mm x H.150mm, Bronze, Brass, Leather, Bone, Elastic, Embroidery Cotton. Photo: Trevor Phillips

Uncanny Life: Objects of Being

Jan Donaldson

16 August – 7 September

Thu– Fri 11am-6pm
Sat– Sun 12-5pm 

(OPENING)

Fri 16 August, 6-8pm

at 

Alternating Current Art Space 

Gallery 2 
248 High St 
Windsor 3181

Jan Donaldson, The Breath, The Heart, The Temples...The Temples and Time, Brass, pewter, wood, found object – World War II gas mask 470mm x 900mm x 100mm

This exhibition explores the doll/puppet as a cultural icon and artifact.  Including contemporary jewellery and object works, I investigate the doll as not just a plaything, but as an object intimately linked to identity. 
My fascination with the uncanny includes experimentation with puppetry and masks. These theatrical elements, which include the ability to express identity through movement, allow for the exploration of larger narratives, alluding to the drama and folly of human existence. 
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Some of the works also reference folk tales and nursery rhymes. I seek to recover a more sensual, childlike world, with all its attendant bafflement, shock, raw desire, clumsiness, illusion and disenchantment.
Individually and collectively the dolls reveal the intimate and the personal. They come together as a collection of individual artifacts that are at once ‘canny’ and ‘uncanny’ in their creation; objects to show our existence - a trace of self.

jan_donaldson_artist    #alternatingcurrentartspace

Jan Donaldson, The silencing of the Lambs, (Detail) Puppet Bronze, brass, wood, leather, found objects Approx: 190mm x 550mm x 300mm

(ABOUT THE ARTIST)
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Artist jeweller/maker and educator, I studied at RMIT and hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Fine Art, Master of Art Degree and a Diploma of Fine Art in Gold and Silversmithing. My work ranges in scale from jewellery to large sculptural works and investigates the relationships between objects and identity. I have been lecturing for 30 years in regional Victoria and Melbourne, and have been an artist in residence/workshop instructor at numerous schools, universities, community groups, arts organizations and galleries. I am a former gallery director and have extensive experience of working on community arts projects.