“Slime & Ashes”
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Tony Albert, Aretha Brown, Jemi Gale, Lionel Grijalva, Bronwyn Hack, Kaymay Hallas, Victoria Todorov, Peter Waples-Crowe and Terry Williams
28 Nov → 15 Jan 2021

Slime & Ashes, curated by Matthew Harris, brings together varied artistic approaches to uncanny figuration and anthropomorphic cuteness to consider the interlocking experiences of nature, culture, community and identity. The exhibition features work by Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Tony Albert, Aretha Brown, Jemi Gale, Lionel Grijalva, Bronwyn Hack, Kaymay Hallas, Victoria Todorov, Peter Waples-Crowe, Terry Williams.

Here we are, we’ve made it.
Every day we put on our silly little outfits and do our silly little tasks. It’s a rags to riches tale, primordial goo to world domination. Clutching our little blue planet, spinning, spinning, spinning into oblivion. Making our way through the problems and pleasures of this sometimes fecal swamp of life with humour and resilience.
It’s been a crappy year, but all we really have is each other on this big ball of Slime and Ashes.

Slime & Ashes is co-commissioned by West Space and Arts Project Australia, and supported by Creative Victoria and The City of Yarra.

Cropped instalation view "Slime and Ashes". On the wall are Tony Alberts five glass cast faces, Bronwyn Hack's framed embroidered textile work and Victoria Todorov's video work to the right of the image on a screen placed away from the gallery walls.
A wide angle installation view of the 'Slime and Ashes' exhibition at West Space. Terry Williams' colourful fabric sculptures are sitting on the floor in the front and centre and Victoria Todorov's video wok on the right with. Lionel Grijvala's three paintings, Tony Albert's five glass cast faces and Bronwyn Hack's framed underwear against the white wall in the background.
Installation view of Terry Williams' soft sculptures. The yellow fabric back of the sculptures are visible with orange and red seams showing where the fabric has been sewn together. The sculptures are faced towards Victoria Todorov's video work, appearing as though the sculptures are watching it.
Wide-angle installation shot for the 'Slime and Ashes' group exhibition, with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah's wood pigs as a central focal point. On the two white walls behind the sculptures are Peter Waple-Crowe's four paintings, Jemi Gale's painting, and Keely Hallas's pen drawings. A large window lets in natural light from the left-hand side of the room, and the white ceiling lights can also be seen.
Wide-angle installation shot for the 'Slime and Ashes' group exhibition, facing the door of the gallery space. The West Space gallery space is flooded with natural light, illuminating the hardwood floors and white walls. Terry Williams' yellow soft sculptures are in the left-hand corner of the image, with Lionel Grijvala's three paintings, Tony Albert's five glass cast faces and Bronwyn Hack's framed underwear against the white wall in the background.
Three of Lionel Grijalva's pairing are hanging on a white wall. Each work depicts an abstract and expressive imaginative landscape. The painting on the left is a dark night time forrest scene with a mountain and moon in the background and a blue lake with brown animals or creatures batting in it. The Central painting is larger that the other two. It is vibrant and colourful and features abstract images of a lush day time landscape with many dinosaurs sharing the scene. In the third painting on the right, the artist has used pink, orangeade yellow colours to depict a sun setting in a landscape with an expressive drawing of a mammoth in the centre.
Five cast glass faces are hung in a horizontal line against a white wall, at about 20cm spacings. Each face is of the same person, with jaw-length wavey hair and a broad smile. The glass faces range from clear on the far left, to a yellow hue, to amber, to dark orange, to black on the far right, creating a gradient from light to dark.
Aretha Brown's assemblages are seen hanging against a white wall, at about eye level. A small section of the floorboards can be seen at the bottom.
A close-up image of Aretha Brown's eight embellished wall assemblages hung in an uneven cluster. From left to right, the first work is a framed image of Beyonce, surrounded by many small colourful and reflective gems. The second is a 'Western Bulldogs' football cap, also embellished with jewels, primarily red and blue. Above those two is a jewelled star frame, with 'Kath' from 'Kath and Kim' wearing a t-shirt with an indigenous flag. There are jewelled tassells hanging off the star. Next is a small boomerang embellished with pink, blue and red gems. Below that is an image of Mariah Carey in a square jewelled frame, with a jewelled flip-phone attached with a chain. The next is a cartoon car filled with gems, with an image of two people and a face hanging below. Above is a very small square jewelled frame, with blue beaded stars hanging off it. Finally on the right side is a large square frame, with a photograph of Robert Smith, two small photos of birds and brightly coloured gems.
A large, 2 panel painting with edges touching in the middle, hangs on a white wall in the West Space Gallery. The painting depicts a city scape, meeting a beach front with a pink sky, blue water and yellow sand. All sections of the painting have painterly, sketchy marks made with darker colours of each section. There is a house with a red roof and blue windows on stilts. A large yellow rectangle floats in the sky. A large grey sky scraper with many yellow windows stands at the waters edge. There is a small blue angel girl who has jumped off the building. In the sky there is an eight pointed star with a dark pink outline and blue fill. There is a circular bird with a white face and yellow beak and wide, dark brown outstretched wings. The is a pale blue flying pony on a cloud and rainbow above a bridge in the distance. There is also a small pink angel girl falling from the bridge. In the water there is a light blue whale-like figure with a pink heart on its chest and a small penguin hanging from a noose. On the sand, from left to right, there is a small yellow duck with little orange feet. A large yellow insect with neon green wings. A small grey ferris wheel with red foundations. In a pink aura, there are two teddies arguing over something. There is a small yellow puppy with a little brown hat throwing a red ring. There is a large brown horse with the face of Hello Kitty with a white face, little pink nose, large pink bow and little black whiskers. Below the horse are four ghost like faces, two are happy red faces and two are sad brown faces.
an installation shot of a large, 2 panel painting with edges touching in the middle, hangs on a white wall in the West Space Gallery. The painting depicts a city scape, meeting a beach front with a pink sky, blue water and yellow sand. All sections of the painting have painterly, sketchy marks made with darker colours of each section. There is a house with a red roof and blue windows on stilts. A large yellow rectangle floats in the sky. A large grey sky scraper with many yellow windows stands at the waters edge. There is a small blue angel girl who has jumped off the building. In the sky there is an eight pointed star with a dark pink outline and blue fill. There is a circular bird with a white face and yellow beak and wide, dark brown outstretched wings. The is a pale blue flying pony on a cloud and rainbow above a bridge in the distance. There is also a small pink angel girl falling from the bridge. In the water there is a light blue whale-like figure with a pink heart on its chest and a small penguin hanging from a noose. On the sand, from left to right, there is a small yellow duck with little orange feet. A large yellow insect with neon green wings. A small grey ferris wheel with red foundations. In a pink aura, there are two teddies arguing over something. There is a small yellow puppy with a little brown hat throwing a red ring. There is a large brown horse with the face of Hello Kitty with a white face, little pink nose, large pink bow and little black whiskers. Below the horse are four ghost like faces, two are happy red faces and two are sad brown faces.
Installation view of Peter Waples-Crowe's untitled series of four small square paintings are hung in a horizontal line on a white wall. The image on the far left is of two anthropomorphic dingos, one of which is holding a baby dingo inside a blanket. The image perspective is from above and distorts into the background, which is a rusty red tone along the top. The bottom two thirds is a vibrant green with yellow spots, interrupted by a segment of greyscale paper collage. The next painting again includes the humanised dingo, which is standing in a black hole, waving its arms. There is a blue sky with a rainbow, a section of greyscale paper collage, and balls of fire flying across the sky. In the foreground, there are large rocks scattered across the dirt and a small but bright fire. The third painting has a blotchy pink background covering the top two thirds, with silouhettes of dingo heads in yellow circles, and dark red teardrop shapes covering the bottom third. The greyscale paper collage form, with a pale pink crucifix in the centre, shelters three dingos, two of which are cradelling the third, which appears to be dead. The final painting depicts a grey collage boat floating in a blue sea made up of dingo faces. The top half of the painting is a yellow sky with grey clouds, stars, and a rainbow. There are two dingos in the boat, one standing up with arms raised and one lying down.
Peter Waples-Crowe's untitled series of four small square paintings are hung in a horizontal line on a white wall. The image on the far left is of two anthropomorphic dingos, one of which is holding a baby dingo inside a blanket. The image perspective is from above and distorts into the background, which is a rusty red tone along the top. The bottom two thirds is a vibrant green with yellow spots, interrupted by a segment of greyscale paper collage. The next painting again includes the humanised dingo, which is standing in a black hole, waving its arms. There is a blue sky with a rainbow, a section of greyscale paper collage, and balls of fire flying across the sky. In the foreground, there are large rocks scattered across the dirt and a small but bright fire. The third painting has a blotchy pink background covering the top two thirds, with silouhettes of dingo heads in yellow circles, and dark red teardrop shapes covering the bottom third. The greyscale paper collage form, with a pale pink crucifix in the centre, shelters three dingos, two of which are cradelling the third, which appears to be dead. The final painting depicts a grey collage boat floating in a blue sea made up of dingo faces. The top half of the painting is a yellow sky with grey clouds, stars, and a rainbow. There are two dingos in the boat, one standing up with arms raised and one lying down.
10 ballpoint pen drawings. The drawings are situated quite high from the ground with a small section of the floorboards visible in the bottom of the image. There are two rows of 5 drawings, running horizontal to the floor.
An installation shot of 10 ballpoint pen drawings. The drawings are situated quite high from the ground with a small section of the floorboards visible in the bottom of the image. There are two rows of 5 drawings, running horizontal to the floor.
A slightly wrinkled pair of beige, high-waisted underwear, mounted on a white background, sits inside a light wood rectangular frame situated on a white wall. The middle of the underwear is embroidered with pink, blue, purple, white and orange threads, creating a textured mass.
Installation shot of Terry Williams' soft sculptures within West Space. The image is taken from floor level, with the sculptures occupying the centre of the image. All four sculptures are of figures with odd proportions and abstracted appearances, sitting upon textured, lumpy yellow armchairs with jagged red hand-stitching. The sculpture on the far left is a two-toned blue figure with wide white eyes and a large red mouth. The second is a smaller black figure with blue stitching. The third is a purple and blue figure with green stitching, a large white nose and a visible penis. The final figure is white with fine blue stitching, and less prominent facial features.
An Installation shot of 'Slime and Ashes' within the West Space Gallery. In the foreground, a Larger mother pig sits next to a little baby pig sculpted with light coloured wood and a semi-gloss finish. The floorboards are a warm wood colour. In the background on the white wall is 4 small, colourful, square paintings with assorted imagery. To the right is a diptych painting, where only one full panel is visible, depicting a city scape meeting a sandy beach. There are characters in motion, the sand is yellow/orange and the sky is pink.
Wide-angle installation shot for the 'Slime and Ashes' group exhibition. The West Space gallery space is flooded with natural light, illuminating the hardwood floors and white walls. Terry Williams' yellow soft sculptures are seen from behind next to Victoria Todorov's untitled video piece, along with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah's wood sculpture 'Two Pigs' in the right-hand corner, and Tony Albert's 'Nuance' on the left-hand wall.

Abdul-Rahman Abdullah is a West Australian artist whose practice explores the different ways that memory can inhabit and emerge from familial spaces. Drawing on the narrative capacity of animal archetypes, crafted objects and the human presence, Abdul-Rahman aims to articulate physical dialogues between the natural world, identity and the agency of culture. Living and working in rural Western Australia, he provides unique perspectives across intersecting communities, foregrounding shared understandings of individual identity and new mythologies in a cross-cultural context.

Tony Albert has achieved extraordinary visibility and much critical acclaim for his visual art practice, which combines text, video, drawing, painting and three-dimensional objects. Examining the legacy of racial and cultural misrepresentation, particularly of Australia’s Aboriginal people, Albert has developed a universal language that seeks to rewrite historical mistruths and injustice.

Aretha Brown made headlines following her speeches at both the 2017 and 2018 Invasion Day Protests in Melbourne. The then Year 11 student, addressed an estimated 50,000 protesters in Melbourne on Invasion Day, calling for the date of the national holiday to be changed. Aretha describes her art practice as a means of giving herself a context in which to live, she is inspired by Melbourne’s Western Suburbs and her journey as a queer teenager. Aretha is currently writing and filming her first comedy short titled “How to be Cool in Melbourne”.

Jemi Gale is an artist, pop girl and poetess working with emotions. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at the Victorian College of the Arts.

Lionel Grijalva is an emerging artist creating detailed constructed worlds that feature invented prehistoric animals, dinosaurs, fantastic beasts and mythological characters. Drawn from his rich imagination yet reminiscent of scientific studies, mystery is evoked for the viewer as fact and fiction blur. Grijalva’s works on paper and ceramics are carefully executed with a sensitive and considered application of materials and inventive use of colour.

Bronwyn Hack is known for her multifaceted practice which spans sculpture, painting, printmaking and ceramics. Her 2D works are composed so as to merge subject and background to form a consolidated linear perspective. Throughout her career, she has maintained an interest in animals, particularly dogs, as well as the body and bones. Her work is held in private collections Australia-wide.

Victoria Todorov is an interdisciplinary artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Often working with non-traditional, garish palettes, Todorov builds textural surfaces that combine text, collage, and figural elements to form intimate interpersonal narratives with comedic undertones. Her unique and personal visual language, although chaotic and oftentimes abrasive, interrogates notions of accessibility, expectation and failure by using, and abusing, the ‘contemporary art lexicon’ from an outsider’s perspective.

Peter Waples-Crowe (he/they) is a queer Ngarigu artist who’s practice is informed by his lived experience and operates in the intersection of identity, blak spirituality and Australia’s ongoing colonisation. Peter has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Koorie Heritage Trust, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei.

Terry Williams is an established artist whose career spans three decades and reflects a diverse exploration of materials and techniques. He is best known for his soft sculpture; a technique popularised in the 1960s by artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Yayoi Kusama. He does not consciously work within common traditions of art, instead of adopting an immersive and idiosyncratic process that ruminates on an idea until it manifests into multi-faceted creations.