Making Sense: AURAS

What happens if we segregate, impede, or heighten our senses in the process of interpretation? 

Making Sense: AURAS is an interpretive project showcasing works by emerging local artists inspired by a work from Newcastle Art Gallery's collection. Selected by our current Youth Advisory Group, three Newcastle-based artists will respond to Virginia Cuppaidge’s work Valoniah. 

Featuring responses by local artists: 

radarbackwards | Kyle Ramboyong | Sandy Sanderson featuring Ramona Raven 

+ responses of taste and smell

Virginia Cuppaidge is recognised as one of Australia's foremost abstract painters, using colour, shape, and form to capture sensations and experiences. Her work Valoniah is part of the important Skyspace series (1980-1984) which was inspired by the dawn light. To achieve this, Cuppaidge developed a new method of applying paint with delicate layers of transitional colour, that gently fade into one another, an effect in Valoniah that has been described as a vivid celebration of nature and the cosmos.

WORKS ON DISPLAY AT MAKING SENSE: AURAS

Sandy Sanderson
A tender skywards gesture  2023
Polyester fabric, PVC sheeting, reclaimed polyurethane foam, reclaimed polyester fiberfill, LED lights, time-based media
Courtesy and © the artist
 
Ramona Raven
Sandbox  2021
LED lamp, synthetic polymer paint, aluminium sheet metal, acrylic sheet
Courtesy and © the artist
 
Making Sense: AURAS is presented by the 2023 Youth Advisory Group: Charlotte Boulus, Raffi Butler, Nicola Ford, Alex Golden, Brontë Naylor, Krystyan Nowak.

Making Sense: AURAS sees the creation of 'by-youth, for-youth' programming, promoting conversation between Newcastle's emerging artists and Newcastle Art Gallery's collection.  

This is a FREE, 16+ event. Register your interest here.

Want to be a part of our Youth Advisory Group?

Expressions of interest open on 13 March - 14 April 2024 to young people aged 18 - 30 interested in gaining experience and shaping programs at Newcastle Art Gallery. Find out more here.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Virginia Cuppaidge

Virginia Cuppaidge is an Australian artist whose art practice and identity are inextricably linked to place and time. With an extensive painting career from the 1970s to the present, living between Australia and New York, Cuppaidge’s practice is centred around responses to her environment. In 2017, Cuppaidge chose to return to Australia from New York permanently, bringing with her a distilled archive of her collected works from the United States.  

Image: Portrait of Virginia Cuppaidge, image courtesy  the artist

radarbackwards

radarbackwards is the instrumental side project of local musical artist Romy Church (a.k.a e4444e). Church finds the term ‘experimental’ tough to grapple with. “I feel like experimental now implies a sound, or a type of music. I think it used to point towards people being free with themselves, using music as a river to express in, without the restraints of superficial judgement. Exploratory seems better now.” Church’s practice centres on a persistent search for new soundscapes and textures seeking awe and wonder in his compositions. 

Image: Portrait of radarbackwards, image courtesy the artist. Photo: Brendan Frost

Kyle Ramboyong

Kyle Ramboyong is a dance artist from the Northern Territory who started dancing in 2009 at the age of 17 under dance teacher Marita Smith. He has performed at various events and festivals, including Seabreeze Festival, the Telstra Art Awards, The World Indigenous Network Conference, and Les Grande Classique. Kyle’s most recent credits include Gary Lang NT Dance Company, Tracks Dance Company, Palmerston Ballet School and Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub.  

Image: Portrait of Kyle Ramboyong, image courtesy the artist. Photo: Claire Johnston

Sandy Sanderson

Sandy Sanderson is an experimental, soft sculpture artist who incorporates screen printing and new technologies into her practice. An artist with a dynamic disability, she uses techniques and materials that are moulded to her capacity. Her works have a focus on texture and sensory qualities and lean into a sci-fi aesthetic. Sandy’s practice gives reverence to this world through authentic acts of empathy-driven creativity. Through her research-based art practice, Sandy aims to help people find the humour and fun in life, while still being able to sit with the dichotomy of exploring the darker realities of life. 

Image: Edwina Richards, Portrait of Sandy Sanderson, 2022, image courtesy and © the artist.

FEATURING ADDITIONAL WORKS BY

KUF KUF

KUF KUF is a range of consciously handmade textile items and apparel made by local artist David Lobb (aka lovedavid). The artist takes once-unloved, abandoned objects and rebuilds them into wearable pieces that allow their new owners to "wear the love, feel the love". For this event, the artist will be hand-making a limited run of uniquely styled, lightly designed blindfolds, that will be supplied for free to guests for an optional "in the dark" experience during this sensory event, particularly during the musical performance to emphasise certain senses other than sight.

Image: Portrait of David Lobb (aka lovedavid), image courtesy the artist.

Ramona Raven

Ramona Raven is a multidisciplinary artist based in Muloobinba. Ramona has explored various creative terrains including textiles, analogue photography, and ceramics.

Image: Portrait of Ramona Raven, image courtesy and © the artist.