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rather be naked 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 | by Carolyn Price

Invitation to Rather Be Naked 2011 group show at Sydney's Tortuga Studios

After the success of last year's Rather Be Naked group exhibition of work by local emerging artists, community art web site WhiteSpac3 is again hosting the event for 2011. This time, the location is Tortuga Studios in St Peters, a collaborative artist warehouse space and gallery located in an old brick factory in the shadow of the brick kilns of Sydney Park.

The show opens THIS SATURDAY (13th August), 6.30pm - 9pm and continues until August 20. Tortuga Studios: 31 Princes Highway, St Peters, NSW, 2044.

The exhibition title refers to the uncovering and exposing of new and emerging artist talents - and those to be stripped bare will include: Abbey Piaud, Alison Mooney, Celine Roberts, Daus Von Roe, Fleur MacDonald, Hayley Megan French, Joanna Gambotto, Kathy Leung, LuLu Campbell-Smith, Mario Villareal, Narika McKenzie, Nicolas Wright, Nina Maskiell, Pirate Photography, Rowena Post, Sarah Korte, Scott Ingram, Szymek Dorabialski and Yianni Johns.

Of course, 2011's Rather Be Naked works are yet to be revealed, but we've included a little info about some of the participating artists below...

Artworks by Nina Maskiell, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show
Nina Maskiell's black and white illustrations seem endless. Contrasting shapes and forms writhe and morph from one organic object into another. The absence of colour concentrates focus on the fine, carefully-planned detail as well as uniting the various components into a single "organism".

Amid My Solidute and Raven - artworks by Sarah Korte, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show
Artworks by Sarah Korte, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show
Sarah Korte's enigmatic drawings and paintings possess an uneasiness - both her hard-edged graphic drawings and also her more dream-like ink paintings. Sarah creates tension in her drawings with stong contrasts and tight compositions (rendered in a comic-book style). The fragile figures have an almost abrasive quality. In contrast, the faces in her paintings are almost fading away. The blurred facial features and empty eye sockets are perhaps all that remains in this place - hanging on with a quiet desperation, whilst fearing and knowing the inevitable.

Oasis and Dynamic - artworks by Joanna Gambotto, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show
Joanna Gambotto is a painter and ceramacist whose recent works are expressive landscape paintings. The small details - evidence of human habitation - are at times nearly engulfed by the surrounding brushwork of the landscape. These two artworks, "Oasis" (top) and "Dynamic" (bottom) are dark and emotional. Our presence seems quite fragile and perhaps temporary.

Artworks by Daus Von Roe, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show

Sydney-based artist Daus Von Roe finds inspiration in dreamscape visions and experiences. He describes his work as "art that explores beyond this time space reality through segments of vibrational consciousness that present themselves in physical form." Daus' most recent voyage was a year of his life lived in a sleeping pattern referred to as “polyphasic”. Polyphasic Sleeping involves a twenty minute sleep every four hours daily. He explains this experience to have harvested some of the most profound patterns of thought in his life, as documented in his cherished Dream Journal. (Visit http://dausvonroe.net for more info and images.)

Conversations and ClownGirl - artworks by Kathy Leung, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show
Kathy Leung is a Sydney-based painter who is "deeply influenced by and passionate of the old times Japanese anime". Her artworks are quiet and haunting - primarily figurative works but the round, almost alien faces reveal something lost, or at least misplaced.

Artworks by Narika McKenzie, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show
Narika McKenzie is a young photographer who works with both her digital SLR and her Holga, Lomo fish-eye and cardboard pinhole film-based cameras. As you can see from the photos above, taken from her "People Call Us Renegades" series, she is inspired by people and seeks to capture seemingly insignificant moments which are important. These images are "meant to remind people of possibility." (Via interview by Fonda LaShay - there are many more images & interesting reading so do visit!)

His and Hers and Play With Me (in progress) - artworks by Celine Roberts, artist exhibiting in Rather Be Naked 2011 group show

I find the work of Celine Roberts particularly intriguing. Pictured above are two of her works. At top, "His and Hers" explores the relationship between sexuality, identity and the body. The work deconstructs our preconceptions concerning our outermost skin down to our innermost bones. It was exhibited at galleryeight last April in the group show, "Fabrication" - an exhibition which coincided with April Fools Day and explored our perception of reality, the fabricated truth and Australians' love of "The Hoax". The second set of images show Celine's "Play With Me" work in progress. This piece explores the sense of touch.

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