Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down

Past Exhibitions

Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down

Justene Williams

Curated by Melanie Oliver

8 August 2012 - 7 September 2012


Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down: roomsheet


Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012

Sydney-based artist Justene Williams creates manic video installations that regurgitate the visual language of consumption, information and image overload, to amplify the excesses and wastefulness of society. Enacted for the camera, she generates ad hoc performances within elaborate yet ephemeral sets that are constructed from inexpensive materials, cardboard and magazines, laboriously crafted to transform these everyday elements into spectacular backdrops.

Recycling high art, popular culture, retail and cabaret, Williams digs back and incorporates the history of images from art history and advertising alike, with particular references to modernism, Dada and Futurism. Williams performs disguised in a costume that replicates the surrounding set, literally animating the interplay between abstraction and figuration. Digital collaging, sound and video editing enhance the frenetic nature of her performance, and this is pushed even further through the subsequent maximal installation.

Projected or presented on stacks of television monitors, the bombardment of imagery makes encountering Williams’ work an absurdly overwhelming experience. It poses the question, how can you make an image in a world already saturated with them?

Justene Williams will present three recent works at ST PAUL St: Berlin Burghers Microwave Monet (2010); 4 Rock Droppers and a Cubist Phone (2011); and Your Love Boat My Scenic Personality of Space (2012).


Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012

Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012

Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012

Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012

Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012

Justene Williams, Turnstile Heaped on Pour Down, installation view, 2012