VISUAL ARTS REVIEW:Now and Then

David Turley’s latest exhibition, shown at First Site RMIT Union Gallery, is a collection of found documents and ephemera reflecting upon the past and recording traces that are left behind.

Turley is a Western Australian based artist that often works with a combination of mediums ranging from photography, installation to sculpture.

In Now and Then Turley explores the notion of combining various found objects to embody time. Throughout the exhibition we are confronted with various objects that have been obtained from deceased estates, roadside collections and second hand stores.

The exhibition is set in a darkly lit room adding a sense of stillness and emotion as the artist explores past existence and time. Time is represented through photographs, slides, letters, invoices and dairy entries. Each image and object represent a specific time that consequently evokes a memory.

For instance, Lamp is a lightly lit lamp that is covered in a series of family slides. The use of the lamp indicates that this object once belonged to a home. Thus, the lamp signifies the existence of its owners and their daily lives.

Throughout the exhibition a series of 35mm slides capture fragments of other peoples’ lives and their adventures. The images range from a series of family gatherings, holidays, homes, and daily encounters. All of these moments are captured in the past but still leave a trace in our lives.

The images alone are a means of evoking memories and revealing fragments of the past. For instance, Prague Butterfly is an old water damaged photograph of the city of Prague. The damaged photograph reveals various layers of one’s journey of travelling across the world. The city is close to being unrecognisable as part of the image is destroyed by time. Thus, the traveller’s journey to Prague has become a shadow of their memory - however, segments of the image ensure the memory is not completely gone.

In essence, Now and Then demonstrates how the re-presentation of ephemera and found objects are never quite forgotten.

Now and Then
First Site, RMIT Union Gallery
Storey Hall Basement
344 Swanston Street
Melbourne
Exhibition Dates: 12 – 22 November 2008
For more information visit http://www.launch.rmit.edu.au/exhibitions.html