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Myth and Signification
Astrid Bell, Sydney Jarrett, Nic Narapiromkwan Foo, Harrison Rae
Myths are stories; considered and condensed, with details and perspectives omitted by a mythmaker. The ability of myth as a tool is that it can distort and change what an image or phrase signifies. It erases the complexities of human actions to create worlds without contradiction.
Roland Boer writes in 'The Robbery of Language' that the crafting of “a world without contradiction” is an undeniable acknowledgement of the undercurrent of oppositional perspectives erased in favour of a singular vision. Boer posits that within myth there are opportunities for using counter-myth as a means to resist the erasure of other perspectives.
Myth & Signification invites four artists to approach myth and counter-myth as building blocks for crafting oppositional worlds, to contest the creation of a world without contradiction and resist the homogenisation of perspectives.
Astrid Elouise Bell is pulled towards the subjects for her triptych of paintings. Her considered practice of rummaging and reflection studies subjects with their own myths. Employing painting as a tool for expanding the myth of each subject in a new direction, Bell multiplies the mythology of her subjects with each brushstroke.
Sydney Jarrett’s work also engages with ideas of furthering mythologies. Jarrett’s installation references Jordy Rosenberg’s Confession of the Fox and explores how one can trace the creation of myth through archival histories while also extending upon stories that can serve as vehicles for truth.
Harrison Rae’s objects continue his research into the myth of John Busby. Rae’s work contests the quiet reverence placed upon Busby and the erasure of what was forced upon prisoners and labourers working on Busby’s Bore.
Nic Narapiromkwan Foo's video work documents the artist praying at the site of Kits on River Road. The documentation is a means to consolidate the demolished restaurant as its own myth and serves as a reminder of myths’ relationship with ritual and memory.
Together these works craft their own world of contradictions through myth and counter-myth. A world resisting the homogenisation of perspectives, the gendering of bodies, and the exploitation of land and labour.