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