Behind the scenes with Thelma

(Gallery Central, 2017)

Curator and Manager Thelma John makes Gallery Central happen! This Gallery is nestled in the heart of Northbridge on 12 Aberdeen Street (North Metropolitan TAFE).
   
As Thelma is curating our Associate Degree end of year group show 360°,  We were invited as a group to see the current exhibition Psychogeography Perth and a walk through her mind as a curator. Understanding what happens behind the scenes will give us some insight on how our show will come together.

Firstly we are to look around and take in as much as we can from this exhibition. I see some familiar works, Ian strange being one of the big name artists as well as Mike Gray one of my favourite works in the show Knock Knock, 2014 because of the humour in the work and the process of actually projecting his naked body onto the buildings without the neighbours knowing, simply brilliant!

(Mike Gray, Knock Knock, 2014, 2017)

As I walk around I get a sense of Perth, portrayed from a number of different perspectives but it is far from the message that I suppose TourismWA would have us project about our vibrant city and contemporary architecture.
This show is worth a visit even if you just see the film, This is Perth by Vincenzo Perrella and Dan Osborn you will get a sense of satire towards Perth a place once called the nana state.

Thelma talks to us about her choice of placement between the works, Why something is placed opposite one another,  it might just be the houses seem to have the same dull roof, the matching colour palette or because simply the stars are aligned. Her mind works in brilliant ways especially when lining up works - when working with series of two-dimensional works "I line them up on a grid," she says "Then once I have the grid form, I can then play around with the composition of the works."  As I look around I start to see these finer details and see the works working as a whole. Some works invite you in to look closely so she has allowed the appropriate space for that to happen. This example is seen in the old film of Perth, The projection is small and inviting wanting you to get intimate remembering the old days.

She explains the more technical side of installing and the weight limits when suspending works. Certain artworks will be set to their area because of the technicality side of it and then it's up to the other artworks to complement the space.

There's more than just what meets the eye when it comes to preparing work for an exhibition. Next time you go into a gallery, I invite you to think about why the work has been placed in that space and does the work interact with the neighbouring artworks.




Bibliography

Gallery Central [Image].(2017). Retrieved from https://www.visitperthcity.com/see-do/gallery-central

Mike Gray, Knock Knock, 2014  [Image]. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.gallerycentral.com.au/psycho-geography-perth/