Artist Interview: Zoe Knight (AUS)
Step over walk around step through
Walk forwards
Crouch down
Look left turn right
Walk forward
Window light lines
Keep moving
Walk forwards
Duck…
These are just a few of the many instructions at Zoe Knight‘s upcoming solo exhibition, ‘Untitled #5’.
See the original article here
Zoe Knight, an installation artist based in Brisbane will be presenting a solo show at Metro Arts titled ‘Untitled #5’. The exhibition consists of an installation made up of small objects, transformed and arranged from found materials in the local area. With a fascination in the materiality of objects and the relationship between viewer, space and object, Zoe’s exhibition will encourage the audience to “crouch”, “turn right” and “keep moving”.
By creating a suggestive and minimalist instruction manual, as well as physical obstacles, Zoe will manipulate how the audience will experience ‘Untitled #5’. “I am incorporating architectural intervention that will change how the audience navigates the space”, explains Zoe. “At my last exhibition I installed a soft ceiling at 150 cm high, so the audience had to duck their heads to view the works”.
Inspired by Minimalism and Post-Minimalism with artists such as Robert Morris and Eva Hesse, Zoe takes a hands-on approach with her process that starts from finding and gathering, to manipulating and arranging, then to installation in a gallery environment. The artist explains she “treats the space as a material”, and by doing so means the same objects read differently in different spaces, giving a unique experience to the audience.
Luke Letourneau with his essay Productive Fidgets wrote, “Zoe Knight is a hunter-gatherer. Copper, wood, rope, foam; these are all re-circulated from the world into her exhibitions. The artist knots and bends these materials into new shapes and forms that are then scattered across the gallery floor. Through this process, her practice draws attention to how we consider and ascribe value to materials and labour, as well as how this is navigated through space and time.”
As well as exhibiting a solo show at Metro Arts, Zoe will be starting her first ever artist residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September, then another in Morocco in January. Surrounded by new environments Zoe is excited to see how her works develop, using new materials that reflect the country’s society.
Untitled #5 will open at Metro Arts from May 25 until June 11, with an artist talk on June 1.
See the original article here
Words by Mel Fletcher
Published by West End Magazine 2016
Images by Becky Strong
Source: zoe-knight.com
