Household Junk Becomes Art In A Brilliant Still-Life Exhibition

Chaotic, vibrant and inventive are the ideal phrases to explain Shelley Horan’s most recent pictures sequence, Compositions.

The Melbourne artist experienced been focusing on portrait operate before lockdowns compelled her to search for inspiration a very little closer to home. Stuck inside, ‘common and ordinary’ turned her new topics – playing all around with ‘hilarious’ pairings like a raspberry well balanced over a toothbrush, or colourful creating blocks within a wine glass.

‘I turned to producing still existence purely simply because it was functional,’ Shelley suggests. ‘I could make photographs from house that happy my imaginative impulses. But creating do the job in this way has truly taken a keep on me, in a way I hardly ever expected.’

The collection showcases practical points along with each day rubbish, like a champagne cork, or ribbon from a birthday existing. She poked all over in the fridge or less than the toilet sink to appear for a little something enjoyable or unusual, complicated herself to conjure up preparations that would make for a surprising image.

It was a ‘fairly messy and chaotic practice’ stuffed with experimentation. Some of the images are the outcome of eight or much more several hours of arranging and rearranging, and that was just before Shelley even started her arduous course of action of retouching, exam printing, additional transforming, re-printing and framing!

‘I’ve photographed a whole lot of issues that may well usually be ignored,’ Shelley adds. ‘I get a true kick from making ordinary matters glimpse valuable. But there’s also a harmony among the colours and textures. There is a entire new this means that comes out of this extremely simple arrangement.’

The is effective are superbly vivid and eye-catching at to start with glance, but their intimate detail and familiarity also encourages viewers to cease and think – ideally, Shelley suggests, with a smile on their facial area.

‘I’d enjoy people today to sense delighted, shocked, confused and curious. I get a large amount of pleasure from producing do the job, and I hope this joyfulness comes across.’

See Compositions at Contemporary Instances from Thursday Oct 27 till Tuesday November 8. Watch the catalogue in this article.

Contemporary Times
311 Smith Street
Fitzroy, VIC