We make works which sit somewhere between fiction and documentary, replicated and real, and which are imbued with a sense of postmodern irony. Our works are a play-off between humour and the absurd, where we use high end fabrication methods in conjunction with a low-tech craft approach to explore these oppositional but interconnected conditions.
Our work often begins with an exploration of a historical site or event, which we reinterpret and reformulate with pop culture references, creating leaps across varying hierarchies and value systems. Our practice is strongly collaborative and occasionally competitive, and the process and outcome is driven by this congruence of friction and accord. We specifically look for the power structures within society, where we find ourselves searching for the 'hero' in everything, or at least, the desire to be that 'hero'.
Instabear is made from high gloss black laminate which adopts the square proportions of the original instagram photograph. Its curved surfaces and mirrored faces give the illusion of a cubic form with a quiff, referencing 1950s furniture, 1960s hairstyles and 1970s electronic devices. Instabear is a readymade hero in a hybrid form.
James and Eleanor Avery have been collaborating on sculpture and commissioned public art projects since 2004. James received his Master of Art and Design Education from University of Warwick, UK and holds a first class Bachelor of Art with honours in Fine Art Sculpture from North Staffordshire Polytechnic, UK. Eleanor graduated from University of Central England, Birmingham, UK with Master of Fine Arts and completed her first class Bachelor of Art with honours in Multi Media Textiles at Loughborough College of Art, UK.
Their work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Ryan Renshaw Gallery, Brisbane, Australia; Schwartz Gallery, London, UK; Artspace, Sydney, Australia; Paul Nache Gallery, Gisborne, New Zealand. They have also been commisioned for private and public art, including by Brisbane City Council for a permanent sculpture at Cannon Hill. Their work also is held in public and private collections.
laminate, plywood
48 x 55 x 45 cm
Finalist
Judges of the 2015 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize: Dr Michael Brand (Director of the Art Gallery of NSW), Penelope Seidler AM (Arts Patron and Director of Harry Seidler & Associates) and Barbara Flynn (International Curatorial Advisor).