Near Death

Westspace solo exhibition, 2009

‘Mayday, mayday, mayday, Lima Mike Hotel. We have an engine failure and are attempting to ditch.’

‘We were only a thousand feet above the water when the engine spluttered and died.’

Three friends survive a plane crash in the ocean off the coast of Tasmania. They are interviewed about the incident’s effect on their lives and dreams. Their recollections are digested by the artist, who starts to remember the dreams as his own.

'How long does it take for a plane to sink? The foreign concept of death',digitally printed photograph, exhibition introduction image.

 

Near Death, installation image, 2009. Dimensions variable.

'A monument to stand around and talk of fallen friends', 2009, stainless steel tubing, plywood, paint, found foam object

Near Death, installation view

Rainbow, The possibility of an afterlife or at least a pleasant drowning, 2009, found object, paint.

Mayday, Mayday, 2009. Synthetic polymer, pigment, tape, aluminium foil on toughened glass, 150 x 90cm

 

 Installation view. Recordings of interviews with the pilot and the three friends played through the headphones hanging on the far wall. The show provides multiple references or entry points for the viewer in an attempt to attune them to understanding the more abstract components of the work.

Impact, installation view. Found materials, Plaster, Fibreglass matting, Paint.

Thread of Light, 2009, synthetic emulsion and pigment on canvas, 66 x 66cm.

The place I return to, 2009, synthetic emulsion and pigment on canvas, 66 x 66cm.

Tideline, 2009, synthetic emulsion and pigment on canvas, 66 x 66cm.

Somnambulism, 2009, synthetic emulsion and pigment on canvas, 66 x 66cm.