Bernadette Klavins, “Unearthed”
3rd – 25th November
UNEARTHED draws upon the notion that humans are geological agents within the current age of the Anthropocene. We shift matter across the earth’s surface at a greater magnitude than any non-human force. We sculpt landscapes into new forms, whether pitting the earth as a quarry miner does when extracting clay, or a bricklayer who builds upwards with excavated matter. This body of work also considers the unfixed nature of these constructed environments. Over time, our built spaces slowly yield to quiet non-human activity and show signs of being destabilised. Suburban footpath pavers transform into swollen topographical sites, their tessellated surfaces thrust up by tree roots and shifting foundations. These localised tensions, provoked by earthly movement, gently reclaim our anthropocentric strata.Through considering these contrasting scales of forces, these works attempt to draw out the poetic potential of our human relationship with deep time. Processes of gathering, filtering, extracting and casting allow the cultivation of a sensitive relationship with matter and its affective qualities.
BERNADETTE KLAVINS (SA) is an emerging artist working primarily within the field of sculpture. Klavins attempts to draw out the transformative potential of familiar materials and processes, and explores their relationship to deep time. In 2016, Klavins graduated with First Class Honours from the Adelaide Central School of Art. During her Honours year, Klavins received a Major Travel Award and a Study Support Grant from the school. Her first solo exhibition was held at FELTspace in 2016, and she has since shown in various group exhibitions. In June 2017, Klavins completed a month-long residency at SIM, The Icelandic Association of Visual Art, in Reykjavik, Iceland. She is currently a Co-Director at FELTspace and a member of Switchboard Studios.
This project has been greatly assisted by the South Australian Government through Carclew, and has also been generously supported by Adelaide Central School of Art.
Detail: Bernadette Klavins, The hollow, 2018, photography by Grant Hancock
Gallery Hours
Friday 3-9pm
Saturday 10-4pm
Sunday 12-4pm
