Charting memory, charting matter: installations by Tony Scott and Anne Graham

I really enjoyed seeing the show by Anne Graham and Tony Scott at William Wright Gallery here in Sydney. Two artists who have been affected by experiences of living and working in China - in Tony Scott's case, for many years - present work which is evocative, compelling and memorable.

Anne Graham, Nobody, 2012, Organza, Metal, 162 x 86 x 15 cm, image reproduced courtesy of the artist, photograph Jenny Carter.

Here is how I described the works in my review of the exhibition for 'The Art Life':

"The ghosts of some artworld figures past and present are invoked in Chart at William Wright Artists’ Projects on Stanley Street, a show of installations by Tony Scott and Anne Graham. Duchamp is here, and Beuys, and in some works the sardonic iconoclasm of Ai Weiwei makes an appearance. Linked by time spent working in China, a central element in the work of each of these artists is an interest in the human body and the ways in which physical sensation and memory reside in objects and the material presence of ‘things’.

Graham’s work on the ground floor beckons the phantom presence of Joseph Beuys, who seems for a moment to be here with us in the gallery, hanging as a transparent apparition on the wall in the form of a suit sewn from filmy white organza. The title of this piece, ‘Nobody,’ reveals the artist’s ironic bent, and a suggestion that we need to look below the seductive surfaces of her works, in order to find the meanings which will reward those who are willing to do so. The use of black and white felt in stacked or sculptural wave-like forms is another deliberate reference to Beuysian notions of the artist as shaman. Graham has participated in numerous artist residencies in Japan, Korea and China, and these influential experiences have shaped her ideas and her material practice, as seen in this recent work." Read more here:The Art Life

Tony Scott, Breathing Apparatus, 2012. Found objects: Lung draining machine, stethoscope, electric current meter, Light Box, digital print 43 x 32 cm. Installation various dimensions, image reproduced courtesy of the artist, photograph Tony Bond.