Raquel Ormella (b. Sydney 1969) is an installation artist working at the intersections of art and activism, investigating the means by which critical reflexivity in contemporary art encourages processes of self-examination regarding political consciousness and social action. Ormellaʼs practice is grounded in exploring the nature of the relationship between humans and the natural environment, with a particular focus on urban expansion and forest activism. In highlighting the connectedness between the two, Ormella attempts to show that our depictions of the natural world are not representations of true ʻwildernessʼ or a pure state, but rather are informed by human contact and reflective of human values.
Ormella has built a practice covering a diverse range of activities such as video, paintings, installations, drawings, and zines. She is interested in exploring the relation of the audience to the artwork by using multiples. For example, she produced a work for the 2008 Sydney Biennale using electronic whiteboards that print the drawings made by the artist, so that the audience may take them home. Her work 130 Davey Street, was shown in the exhibition International Geographic at Artistʼs Space, New York, as well as Cycle paths will abound in utopia, at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Melbourne, and at Mori Gallery Sydney.
Her work has been included in the California-Pacific Triennale, the Biennale of Istanbul and the Sao Paulo Biennale. Major group exhibitions include Bittersweet at the Art Gallery of NSW, as well as in the exhibition C’town Bling, Campbelltown Arts Centre. She has held solo exhibitions at Mori Gallery, Sydney; Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne; and Casula Powerhouse, Sydney.
Opening Event: Friday 6 May 5.30-7.30 pm
Image: Raquel Ormella, Golden Soil #1 2016, acrylic hi-vis and poly cotton, 186 x 186 cm
