Susan Lincoln is an established contemporary visual artist with a rich connection to regional and rural Australia, and the women in Lincoln’s family who have shared experiences of these landscapes. It is the nostalgia, unique environment, and familial connection to these places of importance that has left a signature mark on the majority of Lincoln’s works over the last decade. Lincoln’s oeuvre exhibits the lived experience of the bonds of motherhood and family; from the memories of her mother’s crystal bracelet which would reflect light, to the heartbeat performance video enacted by Lincoln and her daughter, the works always have a root hooked in the ideologies of the feminine and plays with the idea of secular spirituality. It is these themes which inform the works in this latest exhibit.
To be in the presence of Lincoln’s work is to understand the artist’s desire to promote an experiential or immersive experience, one which is rooted in philosophy, memory and reflection; much akin to works by contemporary French Conceptual artist Christian Boltanski. Where Boltanski used similar materials and conceptual frameworks to form a recreation of the past, Lincoln’s work ventures to ascend toward a greater understanding and ultimate reflection of the past, to clarify ideas and transform heavy philosophies into objects and experiences of beauty for the future. The incredible lightness of being invites contemplation and connectivity to a selection of works on paper, video, small and large-scale sculpture, and invites intimacy and viewer participation with the work.
The incredible lightness of being held at Side Gallery is an explorative landing strip for a larger body of work which will tour Australia in 2019-2020.
