色彩斑斓的悉尼艺术家 Eytan Messiah 神话主题创作

Eytan Messiah’s work sits at a cross-section of folk-art and figurative impressionism where abstract plains give ​rise to mythical figures, ​which are further realised in his ceramic works. They converge to form evocative scenes like players on a stage. The result is a whimsical and nostalgic romp through tidbits of Australian culture. ​One​ must piece together the fragments and clues that Messiah provides into a vision of a place, with the beauty being that each viewer will interpret meaning differently.Drawing on myriad references — including the notion that myth making is an essential pillar of humanity, he conceptualises mythology as a device. He contrasts the imagery of Ancient Greek culture theatrically against Australian colonial settings and nods to 18th-century Staffordshire figurines as loaded, important symbols. Messiah was also inspired by early circus activity in Sydney, the impressive biography of Alexander Brodie Spark and his faux-​Arcadian ​estate on the Cook’s River he aptly namedTempe.​ In short, a cocktail of historical and culture references, which allow the artist to provide deeper meaning to his work.Family is key to the artists career. Growing up with an artist mother and landscaper father, art and creativity have always been around. My biggest influence would undoubtedly be my younger sister, whose career as a painter is entirely inspiring. Below,Vogue Livingspeaks to Messiah about his work, influence and inspiration for his latest show.Explain to us the theme of your upcoming solo exhibitionTempe.My family moved to the little suburb of Tempe in the mid 1990s and I’ve had a love for it ever since. I’m sure this is probably the case for every corner of Sydney, but there seems to be such a concentration of mythologies bouncing around in Tempe. In the last 50-100 years, the various waves of migrant communities have each brought their own unique ways of comprehending and articulating this part of Sydney. The Aboriginal history in this area dates back tens of thousands of years, and of course, directly over the top of this history, a relatively short, yet entirely eclipsing colonial past.Alexander Brodie Spark is the catalyst for all of this. After a sequence of failed business ventures in mother England, Spark sets off for Australia. Along the way, he spends time with William Wordsworth and an affair with the poet’s wife and sister. For me, this is where the vision of ‘Tempe’ must have first been conceived. By 1831, 10 years later, Spark has built a small antipodean empire on the colonial pillars of trade, wool exports, land sales and insurance. This pays for a parcel of land near the mouth of the Cooks River where he commissions a grand homestead and gardens loosely framed by the aesthetics of ancient Greece. He names it ‘Tempe’, after the mythical Vale of Tempe, cut out of the rock by Poseidon’s trident.For me, this is such a fascinating way to understand colonialism as a broader concept in Australia. Spark envisions an Arcadian world in order to negotiate his true surroundings. Tempe for him, and vicariously for me when I was developing this series, is device for transcending time and place. Spark is the medium with which I found I could move from one to the other.You work across a few mediums, how does that affect your practice?I love this way of working. Working in clay is so different to painting, yet they totally bounce of each other and inform how you might go about manipulating the other.What is it about myth making that intrigues you? Why do you think it’s an essential pillar of who we are?Mythologies are our way of simultaneously denying and comprehending our past and present. How do we fathom say the death of a child? Making art could be a proxy for this impulse. The theatrical context for the paintings in the show try and explore this. The figures look like statues and the trees are stage props harshly lit by the footlights of a small theatre. These are again parodied by the ceramic works referencing Staffordshire figurines rather than the animals they are named after.The opening night ofTempeis on Thursday 21st of November 6-8pm, and the exhibition is on from 11am-4pm Friday - Sunday and by appointment until the 1st of December, atStepping Into Tomorrow, 329 South Dowling Street, Darlinghurst.