vivonne thwaites
curator
dawn kanost
We are family, 2005
reclaimed materials: frames (wood, metal, glass)
16 frames from 25.5 x 20.5 to 9 x 9 cm in size
Wife Material 2003 (detail below)
reclaimed materials: apron (cotton), cotton
approx. 50 cm x 33–55 cm
dawn kanost
Dawn has a deep love for the home and daily rhythms, as can be seen through the quotidian objects she recovers and overlays with meaning, giving them a new lease of life, often charged with moral and political messages. Take the banal tea-towels that become a critique on society, via the textual and visual adaptations Dawn lends to them. Napery, crockery, clothing and other familiar daily objects are the foundation stones of her work.
She views all of humanity as a form of family, with Earth a communal home, and uses these as subjects for treatment in her artworks to communicate how she interprets individual and collective human impact on one another, and our environment.
Interdependence of the individual and the whole and, similarly, that of mind and body provide a key to her work, much of which is sculptural. Frequently constructed to present no ‘right’ side to the viewer, the aspect of different perspectives, or multiple readings, is added to through Dawn’s predominant re-use of existing materials in creating her pieces. She gives consideration to the message already being conveyed by the nature of the reclaimed material (she is loathe to use synthetics) and its pre-existing imagery and form, and engages these inherent symbols as a part of the overall work. Use of text in the work, and the title, adds meaning or acts as a frame.
Dawn’s love of science and art, her curiosity about life, interest in yoga, Buddhist philosophies, that of biodynamic farming, permaculture and sustainable approaches to living all contribute to, and nurture, her art practice.
dawn kanost - cv
| EDUCATION | |
| Current | Diploma of Engineering Technology – Jewellery. NMIT. |
| 2007 | Diploma of Anthroposophical Studies. Melbourne Rudolf Steiner Seminar Ltd. |
| 1996 | Doctor of Philosophy (Immunology). Monash Medical School, Monash University. |
| 1989 | Bachelor of Science (Hons 1). Monash University. |
| SOLO EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2005 | Let something go: change, NGV moat, Melbourne |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2008 | Expressions 2008: The Wool Quilt Prize, National Wool Museum, Geelong. |
| 2006 | Lexicon, Gallery @ City Library, Melbourne. |
| 2004 | Expressions 2004: The Wool Quilt Prize, National Wool Museum, Geelong. |
| 2004 | Real. Not Real, artroom5, Adelaide. |
| 2003 | Linden Postcard Show 2003, Linden St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Arts, St Kilda. |
| 1999 | Doll, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide; Object Galleries, Sydney, Pt Pirie Tourism Arts Centre, Pt Pirie. |
| 1998 | Home is where the art is, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. |
| GRANTS AND AWARDS | |
| 2004 | Coffin Bay Art and Craft Gallery’s Winter Hat and Beanie exhibition. |
| Two prizes: Most Surprising / Unexpected Hat; Most Innovative Hat. | |
| 1989–92 | Australian Postgraduate Research Award. |
| 1991 | Australian Society for Immunology Student Bursary. |
| 1988 | Anti-Cancer Council Vacation Studentship. |
| SELECTED PUBLICATIONS | |
| 2004 | Trzcinski, J. ‘Trash and treasure’ Herald Sun Home Magazine. May 29, 2004:16 |
| 2004 | Radok, S. ‘Real not real’ The Adelaide Review. 247 (April 2004). |
| 1999 | Harms, L. ‘Doll’ Artlink. 1999, 19(2):84–85 |
| 1994 | Kanost, D. and McCluskey, J. 1994. ‘Anergic B cells constitutively present self antigen: enhanced immunoglobulin receptor-mediated presentation of antigenic determinants by B cells is hierarchical’ Eur. J. Immunol. 24:1186–1193. |
| 1993 | Kanost, D., Basten, A., and McCluskey, J. 1993. ‘Threshold detection of self-antigen/MHC class II complexes formed in vivo: constitutive presentation of an immunodomiant epitope of hen egg lysozyme (HEL) in HEL-transgenic mice’ Int. Immunol. 5(8):893–902. |
| 1991 | McCluskey, J., Blok, R., Brooks, A., Chen, W., Kanost, D., and Kjer-Nielsen, L. 1991. ‘The biology of antigen processing and presentation.’ In James McCluskey (ed) Antigen Processing and Recognition, p. 1–54, CRC Press, Boca Raton (ISBN 0-8493-6932-0) |
| COLLECTIONS | |
| The Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art, University of Western Australia | |
| Private collections | |