harry hummerston

walking spanish

26 June - 25 July 2015

Harry Hummerston continues to be intrigued with popular culture and its symbols. In this, his eighteenth solo exhibition and third with Turner Galleries, he has simplified his forms still further.

Previous layering has given way to elegant silhouettes, cut from acrylic or materials used in building or renovating. He has obtained his images from sources as varied as Japanese Manga characters through to American military helmets. The repetition and juxtaposition of these forms give his works both power and ambiguity.

He stated that they are "a continuation of my exploration of the notion that we never really fully understand what we see. By coupling simple shapes with each other and employing strategies such as mirroring, inversion and repetition with variation, I hope to pose questions rather than proffer solutions".

The jarring nature of some of these pairings jolt us from our complacent viewing, a metaphoric 'walking Spanish' if you like, to uncomfortable conclusions or questions. Christianity is referred to in the titles of several works, such as the series of Crucifix variations and Trinity variations. Yet when the form of a cross is made from guns, or the negative area between four Astro Boys, or umbrella carrying business men with Japanese cosplay girls, we can't help but draw on our own knowledge, and our own connections to these symbols. Still more intriguing are the Made in Japan variations, where contemporary Japanese culture is paired with traditional motifs, such as Manga fighting girls with Bonsai trees, plus of course the title draws our attention to Japan's history as leader in consumerism and marketing.

Harry Hummerston's graphic style is drawn from his background as a master print-maker, and his fascination for form and shape from his experience as a sculptor. His artworks can be found in over 45 major collections including the Art Gallery of WA, National Gallery of Victoria, Artbank, National Gallery of Thailand, Wesfarmers, Kerry Stokes and Holmes a Court Collections, numerous council collections, Deakin University, RMIT and the University of WA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

chaos enamel on acrylic sheet 69 x 79cm 2015 $1,300	harmony enamel on acrylic sheet 73 x 73cm 2015 $1,500 sold
union no.1 aluminium composite 32 x 19.5cm 2014 $250	union no.2 aluminium composite 26.5 x 22cm 2014 $250
union no.3 aluminium composite 26.5 x 18cm 2014 $250	union no.4 aluminium composite 42.5 x 19.5cm 2014 $300
union no.5 aluminium composite 38.5 x 25.5cm 2014 $300	union no.7 aluminium composite 40 x 23cm 2014 $300
union no.9 aluminium composite 32 x 20cm 2014 $250 sold	union no.10 aluminium composite 47 x 19.5cm 2014 $300 sold
union no.11 aluminium composite 38 x 25cm 2014 $300 sold	made in japan variations no.1 aluminium composite, vinyl on mdf 59 x 64cm 2015 $1,100
made in japan variations no.2 aluminium composite, vinyl on mdf 50 x 59cm 2015 $1,100	made in japan variations no.3 aluminium composite, laminex on mdf 60 x 50cm 2015 $1,100
made in japan variations no.4 aluminium composite, laminex on mdf 52 x 61cm 2015 $1,100	made in japan variations no.5 aluminium composite, enamel on acrylic sheet 50 x 64cm 2015 $1,100
made in japan variations no.6 aluminium composite, enamel on acrylic sheet 53 x 69cm 2015 $1,100	made in japan variations no.7 aluminium composite, enamel on acrylic sheet 58 x 64cm 2015 $1,100 sold
crucifix variations no.1 aluminium composite, enamel paint 59 x 58cm 2014-15 $600	crucifix variations no.2 enamel on acrylic sheet 39.5 x 38cm 2015 $600
crucifix variations no.3 enamel on acrylic sheet 56 x 60cm 2015 $600	crucifix variations no.4 aluminium composite, enamel paint 60.5 x 60.5cm 2014-15 $600
crucifix variations no.5 aluminium composite, enamel paint 59 x 59cm 2014-15 $600	crucifix variations no.6 aluminium composite, enamel paint 50 x 44cm 2014-15 $600
crucifix variations no.7 aluminium composite, enamel paint 56.5 x 56.5cm 2014-15 $600	crucifix variations no.8 aluminium composite, enamel paint 52 x 55.5cm 2015 $600
crucifix variations no.9 enamel on acrylic sheet 56 x 56cm 2015 $600	crucifix variations no.10 enamel on acrylic sheet 43 x 32.5cm 2015 $600
crucifix variations no.11 enamel on acrylic sheet 48.5 x 48.5cm 2015 $600
trinity variations no.1 aluminium composite 53 x 57.5cm 2014-15 $900	trinity variations no.2 aluminium composite 48.5 x 59cm 2014-15 $900
trinity variations no.3 enamel on acrylic sheet 24 x 57cm 2013 $600
trinity variations no.4 aluminium composite 26 x 68cm 2014-15 $600
trinity variations no.5 enamel on acrylic sheet 29.5 x 58cm 2014-15 $600
trinity variations no.6 aluminium composite 54 x 58cm 2014-15 $600
trinity variations no.7 aluminium composite 24 x 58cm 2015 $600
trinity variations no.8 aluminium composite 19 x 61cm 2015 $600 sold