vivonne thwaites
curator
chris de rosa
Blue venetian lace spongia.
Photopolymer etching,ink stain,perforations, on Magnani paper and lino.
70(w) x 100(h) 2009
Sealace
Photopolymer etching, digital inkjet print, pigment stain, lionocut,perforations,on Magnani paper and lino.
980(w) x 1050(h) 2009
Liminal lace
Photopolymer etching, digital inkjet print, pigment stain, linocut,perforations,on Magnani paper and lino.
980(w) x 1050(h) 2009
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
Yes, press my eyelids close,
'tis well,
—But far the rapid fancies fly
The rolling worlds of wave and shell,
—And all the lands where corals lie.
Whilst working on seaweed based prints last year I began listening to “Where Corals Lie” a piece of music by Elgar which overlays the poem of the same name by Richard Garnett wherein the singer is seduced away from mortal love by the pervasive lure of the sea (the “land where corals lie” is, of course, beneath the waves). I played the one song over and over, ad- infinitum at deafening levels. The themes of the work overlapped with earlier interests in the notion of calenture (the state where seasick sailors in a fit of homesickness threw themselves into the sea).
There is also a legend which influenced the work in which a young Venetian seafarer called Polo brought his beloved Dolfina a stalk of seaweed from the far, distant seas. The weed was truly wonderful, frayed, hole-ridden and encrusted with marine salt .It seemed as though it had been fashioned by the sirens. When Dolfina saw it she was concerned at the marvellous seaweed’s fragility. To preserve its beauty, she took a needle and thread and painstakingly copied it, tracing out the seaweed's design until it became lace.
Having been collecting seaweed from our local shores for it’s aesthetic (and Gothic) qualities for quite some time. Its otherness intrigues me. Those sea changes do indeed turn it into things rich and strange; be it tree-forms or indeed lace.
Although the beauty of the seaweed itself should ideally be preserved, it is the transformation that occurs from under to above sea that interests me: a kind of reverse sea change (from "something rich and strange".) My print processes echoes those transformations. Current work continues to follow these themes along with the kind of sea changes that occur underwater. I am interested in the way the music of Elgar’s piece and Garrett’s poem are constructed and intertwined each to serve the other.
chris de rosa - cv
Four of Chris De Rosa's works have been acquired by the NGA. Chris De Rosa is included in the exhibition Littoral, Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, 2010.
| Education | |
| 1998 | Solar Plate/Monoprint workshop, Main Street Editions, Hahndorf, S.A. |
| Keith Howard non-toxic printmaking workshop, University of S.A | |
| 1992 | Diploma of Art North Adelaide School of Art (NASA) S.A. |
| 1989 | Certificate in Art, Jewellery and Printmaking, NASA, S.A. |
| Professional experience | |
| 2008 | Pt. Augusta Aboriginal Artists, conducted printing workshops for Yarnballa Cultural Festival |
| 2007 | Willaston Baby Memorial, Gawler Council, S.A., Public Art Commission |
| Garden Beds, Adelaide City Council, | |
| 2004 | Rails, Community Art Project, Pt. Elliot, Country Arts S.A. |
| 2001 | Edible Roots, Adelaide Central Market Community Art Project |
| 1997 | Community Art Project, Thebarton Community Art Network, Adelaide |
| 1998 | Conducted solar plate workshop for SA Country Arts Trust, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Land communities |
| Artist in Schools | |
| 2008 | Constellation, Victor Harbor High School, Carclew |
| 2004 | Rails, Linocut and Tile project, Pt Elliot Primary School, Carclew |
| Linocut project, Streaky Bay Area School, Carclew | |
| 2003 | Come Out, Victor Harbor and Pt Elliot Primary Schools, Come Out, Streaky Bay Area School |
| Solo exhibitions | |
| 2008 | Seagarden, Helen Stephens Gallery, Sydney |
| 2007 | Due, SOMA Gallery, Adelaide |
| 2005 | Thingscapes, Adelaide Central Gallery 2 |
| 2002 | Panacea, Promenade Gallery, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide |
| Selected Group Exhibitions | |
| 2009 | Whyalla Art Prize, (selected) Middleback Theatre, S.A. |
| Artroom5, Henley Beach, S.A. | |
| 2008 | Artroom5, Henley Beach, S.A. |
| Women, Art & Politics, Swan Hill Regional Gallery, Victoria | |
| Swan Hill Print & Drawing Award (selected) Victoria | |
| 2007 | Whyalla Art Prize, (selected) Middleback Theatre S.A. |
| By The Light of the Moon, Impressions on Paper Gallery, Canberra | |
| Altered States, Wagga Wagga, N.S.W. | |
| Fremantle Print Award, (selected) Fremantle Arts Centre W.A. | |
| 2006 | Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial, touring nationally |
| Swan Hill Print & Drawing Award, (selected) Victoria Fremantle Print Award, (selected) Fremantle Arts Centre W.A. |
|
| Calenture, Light Square Gallery, AC Arts, Adelaide | |
| 2004 | Swan Hill Print & Drawing Award, (selected) Victoria |
| Drawing Today, Central Gallery, Adelaide, touring regional S.A. (SACAT) | |
| Open Borders, Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, McLaren Vale, touring regional S.A. (SACAT) | |
| Fremantle Print Award, (selected) Fremantle Arts Centre W.A. | |
| Whyalla Art Prize, (selected) Middleback Theatre, Whyalla, S.A. | |
| 2003 | Distant Voices, RMIT Gallery, Victoria |
| 2002 | Fremantle Print Award, (selected) Fremantle Arts Centre W.A. |
| 2001 | Whyalla Art Prize, (selected) Middleback Theatre Whyalla, S.A. |
| 2000 | Karra / Karrawirraparri, Art Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide (Adelaide Festival 2000) |
| 1999 | Doll Show, Art Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide and Object Gallery, Sydney |
| Contemporary Linocuts and Woodcuts, Art and Design Gallery, Woolloongabba, Queensland | |
| 1998 | Home Is Where the Art Is, Art Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide |
| 1997 | The SA Connection, Cowwarr Art Space, Gippsland, Victoria. |
| Co-curated Meander and exhibited, NASA, S.A., SAPW Retrospective toured regional S.A. (SACAT) | |
| 1994 | Men in Space, Union Gallery, University of Adelaide |
| 1993 | Ethereal Edge, Works in Paper, Jam Factory, Adelaide |
| Collections | |
| 2009 | Australian National Gallery, ACT |
| 2008 | Swan Hill Regional Gallery, Victoria |
| Charles Darwin University, NT. | |
| 2004 | Scott Hicks, Private collection |
| 2002 | Whyalla City Council, S.A. |
| 1990 | Workcover, Adelaide. |
| Grants | |
| 2007 | Arts SA – project development and presentation |
| 2006 | Arts SA – project assistance |
| 2002 | Arts SA – Panacea Exhibition |
| 2001 | Arts SA and Australia Council – Central Market Project. |
| 1999 | Department for Arts and Cultural Development S.A. – Karra Exhibition. |
| Awards | |
| 2006 | Image Award For Excellence, One Exhibition,SA. |
| 2001 | Whyalla Art Prize, Print Section, S. A. |
| Publications | |
| De Rosa in her Garden, Shaw Hendry, Imprint, 2009 | |
| Open Borders, John Neylon, Fleurieu Biennale, 2004 Heritage Exhibition | |