Swich'n It Up

If you weren’t looking for it, you’d almost definitely miss it. Nestled cosily in the heart of Ipswich lies a hidden treasure in the form of The Swich Contemporary Art Space a small commercial gallery run by LeAnne Vincent and Gilbert Burgh, the duo are both heavily involved in the Ipswich art community,  and are both members of the Ipswich Art Awards committee, amongst numerous other arts organisations . Currently showing at The Swich is ‘Drawing Fetish’, a series of works by former Queensland College of Art graduate, Sharon McKenzie. Sharon is an Ipswich based artist and current artist-in-residence at the Old Courthouse Gallery, she has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Ipswich, Brisbane and Melbourne. Upon entering The Swich I was greeted by Sharon’s detailed ink on paper drawings lining the walls. Upon my initial inspection of several of these drawings I had thought them to be very intricate and abstract mosaics using fine line patterns to create forms but after a second I realised that they depict several inanimate objects and figures, constructed from doylies. Sharon calls this transformation of forms ‘doylisation’. 

I had the fortune of talking to Sharon, briefly, during my visit and she informed me that she was using the doylie as a metaphor for the past, especially in regard to women, their rights, and their expectations in society. I found the ‘doylised’ figures quite enthralling especially in one that depicted the ‘doylised’ figure unravelling, revealing internal organs also in doylie form. Amongst the others in the collection one depicts a computer (older in design illustrated by the CRT monitor depicted), the next a clock and the next an array of old five and a quarter inch floppy discs. To me these three in particular struck a certain chord, they invoked a certain nostalgia in me reminding me of both the doylies resting atop tables but also the technology that was of frequent use in my childhood. I feel that The Swich is an ideal gallery for these works to stand on their own, the smaller space aiding in the introspection already invoked by the works.

 

Anyone in Ipswich would definitely benefit from a visit to this unique cloister sandwiched between buildings on Brisbane St.

Interested? Check out http://www.theswichcontemporaryartspace.com.au/  for more information.