Media releases

Teaching staff and research associates from Federation University Australia’s Arts Academy are on the other side of the easel this week as they unveil their own work during the annual SCOPE20 exhibition.

SCOPE, now in its twelfth year, is an important Arts Academy annual exhibition comprising new and existing work by artists whose practice is underpinned by rigorous research at Federation University.

Participating artists include Visual Arts lecturers, teachers, Research Associates, Associate and Adjunct Professors and Research Fellows.

Their work is created across many disciplines including drawing, painting, photography, performance art, video, ceramics, textiles and printmaking.

Staff have presented works of beauty and contemplation alongside the real and unsettling, expressing ideas related to fact and fiction, identity, empathy, politics and global unrest, as well as climate change, Indigenous art and cultural appropriation.

The exhibition includes work created by professional filmmakers Lucinda Horrocks and Jary Nemo (Wind & Sky Productions) alongside designers Morgan Williams and Kim Percy and internationally renowned performance artist Dr Jill Orr.

The exhibition presents contrasting works that include Dr Orr’s unsettling video inspired by Spanish artist Francisco Goya exploring war, human dislocation and suffering against the sensitive works of Dr Loris Button and Dr Carole Wilson that combine visually beautiful patterns and forms with textile elements to express ideas surrounding memory, nostalgia, cultural symbolism and travel.

The exhibition will run from Friday 21 February to Saturday 7 March at the Post Office Gallery. Opening hours are noon to 5:00pm, Wednesday to Saturday.

Other Arts Academy artists to feature their work include Paul Mah, Jimmy Pasakos, Kim Percy, Peter Pilven, Pitcha Makin Fellas (Ted Laxton, Trudy Edgeley, Adrian Rigney), Elke Varga and Morgan Williams.

Picture: Collections and Climate Change, Wind & Sky Productions and Chris Hayward, 2019

Quotes attributable to Director, Arts Academy, Associate Professor Rick Chew

“We’re very fortunate at the Arts Academy to have the combined excellence of current lecturing and research staff who as artists also undertake a rigorous artistic practice across a broad range of media.”

“The exhibition not only reflects the breadth of skill but also models the excellence and professionalism by each of the artists and lecturers who impart their knowledge to our Visual and Performing Arts students.”

Quotes attributable to Curator, Post Office Gallery, Shelley Hinton

“The breadth of work and ideas in SCOPE20 is outstanding and a testimony to each of the participating artists.”

“SCOPE20 not only reflects the way in which artists work across a range of media but also speaks about important local, national and international issues and ideas currently explored and expressed by contemporary artists around the globe today.”