Title

Alex Selenitsch - Gold Mountain.

Venues

Grahame Galleries + Editions. (20 October 2007 – 17 November 2007)

Date

(2007)

Summary

Single-artist exhibition. Located: Australia (QLD). Paperworks; Artistsbooks

Web address

https://grahamegalleries.com.au/alex-selenitsch-e…

Country of context

Australia

Abstract

GOLD MOUNTAIN

Security tape appeared one day the floor outside my office to mark out a safe exit in an emergency. While mindful of its purpose, I saw the gold/black rhythm and reflective surface. I located a roll from the same supplier, and after some preliminary studies (the SECURITY TAPES) of field patterns using the black and gold diamonds in the tape, I drew/taped/constructed two models of Mt Purgatory, now numbers 1 and 7 of the present set, but then numbered 1 and 2. The rest followed to bring the number up to seven. This allowed the set to function as a conglomerate model of Mt. Purgatory, as well as offering seven individually biased versions in a kind of narrative.

The tape was applied in two stages: firstly, a profile of the mountain was put down as if it was made of strips, and secondly, a slightly disordered pattern of elements cut from the raw tape was overlaid to emphasize a transition from black to gold. Passive looking, and over it, active looking. In one drawing, these two concerns appeared to emerge out of the one gesture, indicating a place where the mountain and its occupation might be the same. This naturally became the fourth drawing, corresponding to the fourth level on Dante’s version of Mt. Purgatory – SLOTH, where Dante and Virgil rest and the mountain’s structure is explained.

SECURITY TAPES

These began when I noticed a leftover sheet of paper with some folds in it. I had just bought a roll of security tape and noticed that the tape could easily be sliced into (at least) four kinds of diamonds. Three more sheets were then added to the set and given folds. The fold-lines used to position the first pieces on each piece of paper. Then, additional pieces were added until a balance of overall pattern and the recognition of individual pieces was achieved.

BLACK BOOKS

In the Black Books, white gummed paper tape is used to bind black pages together, and at the same time, provide a kind of text which is sometimes continuous and sometimes discontinuous.

Alex Selenitsch September 2007

[Grahame Galleries + Editions media, 2007].

Last Updated

03 Aug 2024