Material Culture in a Material World is a temple-like conglomerate of recent workings of three Brisbane-based artists; Miguel Aquilizan, Jordan Azcune, and Jessica Dorizac. Their practices are deeply rooted in the act of creation as research, and they rely on fundamental principles of artistic production. Approaching the gallery as a studio, the studio as artwork, and an artwork as a gallery, the exhibition will include elements of their used studio, large scale ephemeral sculptures, paper installations, and wall markings. As each artist delved into their own creative processes, they strive to evoke a common sense of awe and enchantment through the use of materials. By challenging established norms and experimenting with various materials, these artists foster a dynamic exchange of community, ideas, and techniques within their respective studios.
Viewers will be invited to contribute their own addition to one of the sculptures within the space as an ongoing participation.
Miguel Aquilizan (b. 1986, Philippines) is a trained sculptor (University of the Philippines Diliman. Fine Arts (Sculpture) and jeweller (Griffith University, Queensland College of Art. Certificate of Fine Arts (Jewellery). He is also a member of the family collective Fruit Juice Factori, whose practice is deeply rooted in collaboration and play. In his personal practice, M Aquilizan explores aspects of society and history, specifically spirituality, the occult and nature, through poetic narratives that are assembled, scavenged or found. Challenging cultural memory and interrogating notions of cultural displacement and ambiguity due to globalisation, migration and colonialism. He currently lives and works in between Brisbane, Australia and Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines at the Fruit Juice Factory.
Jordan Azcune is an artist and maker based in Meanjin/Brisbane who is driven by materials and their processes. Fascinated with colour, optics, and spiritual connection, his artwork relates to the natural world, the body, and architecture. He is captivated by natural bee’s wax and its connection to heat, its elemental state of being both liquid, and solid. Azcune mines wax to find the limits of its potential, expanding its possibilities through colour, treatment, and processes. The outcomes of these experiments navigate the fields of mathematics, fantasy, and chance, and are paired with metals to present camp offerings that captivate and intrigue.
Jessica Dorizac is an artist and designer whose work is currently informed by play and the language of ornament and design. She attempts to navigate the multiplicities of place, identity and history, rooted in decoration and ornament, through materials and processes of handicrafts and trades. Dorizac is a member of the Queensland Bookbinders Guild and is currently living and working in between Queensland, Australia and Laguna, Philippines.
OPENING: Friday 19 May 2023, 6-8pm
