Darwin with Tears
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Australian artist Lyndal Jones’ long and successful career at the forefront of video and performance art in Australia will be celebrated with a survey exhibition at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) from May 24.
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Lyndal Jones uses personal stories and memories to explore desire, attraction and sexual selection in a long and celebrated practice that has seen her represent Australia at the 2001 Venice Biennale, and show her work at
numerous galleries here and overseas.
A pioneer of new media, video and performance art in Australia, Jones has produced a massive body of work since the early 1980s, and is known for creating long-term projects which initially focused on performance then video installation. Throughout, her works have addressed the power of the experiential and the development of interactivity.
Works in this major survey exhibition include:
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The Prediction Pieces, completed between 1981-1991, where Jones explored the way humans arrange the idea of the future within their minds.
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The Darwin Translations, created from 1994-99, will be seen together for the first time in this exhibition. Using naturalist Charles Darwin’s ground breaking thesis, ‘Origin of the Species’ as a base, Jones creates playful, provocative and sensual works about human and animal sexuality, gender difference and sexual selection. Images of giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands, fields of bright red poppies and an avery of finches sit alongside a video work exploring teenage mating rituals in Scotland and references to Sigmund Frued’s consulting room. Throughout, voices intrude into the works with tales of the erotic.
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Deep Water/Aqua Profunda, Jones’ video and sound installation shown at 2001 in Venice, where a collage of voices tell stories about sexual intimacy in both Italian and English, surrounded by a constantly lapping body of water. Other works that focus upon ‘tears’ such as Jones’ ‘Crying Man’ installation, will also be shown.
And a new work commissioned especially for this exhibition, the words ‘Tears for what has been done’ will light up the exterior wall of ACCA, reflected in pools of gathered water below.
“Lyndal’s provocative and evocative work, developed over 30 years of artistic pursuit, represents a most comprehensive evolution of ideas – feminism linked to Darwinism, psychoanalysis, Freud and the self, sexuality linked to desire, ecology linked to responsibility,” says Juliana Engberg, Artistic Director of ACCA. “Lyndal’s work has been an epic endeavor towards understanding the very fundamental drives that motor humanity. Her work is passionate, sexual and highly personal, yet universal in its attempt to get to grips with the essences of life.”
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Lyndal Jones: Darwin with Tears is part of ACCA’s annual series of exhibitions by influential Australian artists, and will be launched alongside a Catalogue Raisonne of Jones’ work. Previous exhibitions in this series include John Nixon EPW; Dom de Clario’s A Second Simplicity and A Constructed World’s Increase Your Uncertainty.
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Lyndal Jones: Darwin with Tears: 24 May – 20 July, 2008.
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 111 Sturt Street, Southbank.
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm, Weekends 11am–6pm. Mondays by appointment.
Tel: 03 9697 9999. Admission: Free. www.accaonline.org.au
For further media information: Katrina Hall on 03 9697 9999,
mobile 0421 153 046 or email khall@accaonline.org.au
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This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
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