Nadia Odlum: upcoming artist-in-residence

Nadia Odlum is a multidisciplinary artist from Sydney, living and working across Eora and Dharug land. Driven by a fascination with urban environments, Nadia creates playful and immersive works that explore personal and collective experiences of space and urban architecture. Often working site-specifically, their output spans sculpture, drawing, painting, installation, artist-led workshops, and performance collaborations. The works are inspired by movement, patterns, and forms within the built environment, mirroring and abstracting these elements to form new spatial and material relationships. Central to Nadia's practice is an investigation of perceptual experience, and how urban space impacts encounters and relationships between individuals and communities. 

Nadia Odlum in their studio, 2019. Photo by Walker Esner.

During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to taking advantage of the solitude and different 'pace' offered at Gunyah, using my time to explore different ways of depicting movement through drawing. My research at Gunyah will feed into a choreographic/drawing workshop to be presented with the Biennale of Sydney in April. 

You can follow Nadia's residency in March 2022 via @gunyahartists on Instagram.

2022 Gunyah artists-in-residence programme


Coming up in 2022 there will be seven artist residencies at Gunyah, on Worimi Land. We have several artists whose residencies have been rescheduled due to NSW COVID lockdowns and some who narrowly missed out on being selected for residencies previously. 

Here's to a new year and hoping it goes more smoothly! 

The 2022 Gunyah artists-in-residence are:

You can follow their residencies @gunyahartists #gunyahartists 

Residency report: Danica I. J. Knezevic

Danica I. J. Knezevic at Gunyah

After months of lockdown, heading out to Gunyah was pretty bizarre, considering I didn’t branch out of 5km for the duration. The first time I had filled my car with petrol in months was uncanny. 1st of November, travel opened up, and off I went to Gunyah. I packed my car with all my equipment (there was a lot) and blasted the playlist I made for the trip down.


Danica I. J. Knezevic, work in progress - Zlata and Zlatko

 

After I arrived unpacked and settled, I spent the first couple of days drawing embroidery, Croatian folkloric patterns. Specifically, I have been influenced and researched Croatian/ Bosnian tattoo patterns used during the Ottoman Empire to prevent women from being kidnapped. I mixed with contemporary gender symbols to merge ideas around gender and sexuality with my culture. Part of this work is to try and create a new hybrid cultural experience/expression to the inclusion of sexuality. Often Queer diaspora are not able to merge their queerness with their culture due to needing to hide their sexuality. I drew these symbols on a white shirt and a dress to create a new type of Folkloric costume. In doing so, I created Zlata and Zlatko, who reflect the Jungian Anima and Animus, the collective unconsciousness of masculine and femineity. I was grateful to have my friend Anthony come up to help me take the images. 

  

Danica I. J. Knezevic, work in progress - Zlata and Zlatko

 

Part of being at wonderful Gunyah is its peacefulness and the space to contemplate. It was great being able to merge images and have the space to experiment. Fashion designer Sally Jackson came up, and we experimented with wearable art using paper and fabric. These are quick exercises to look at the form, the body. We also enjoyed a swim. The water was so lush! The water is healing, and hearing the waves hit the shore is regenerative.   

 

Danica I. J. Knezevic and Sally Jackson, Wearable Art experiment with paper and fabric 

 

Danica I. J. Knezevic and Sally Jackson, Wearable Art experiment with paper and fabric 


I woke up one morning, and made a friend. We stared at each other for a long time. It was like were mutual gazing. 
 

 

Danica I. J. Knezevic, Mutual gazing with a wallaby friend 

   

I spent about a month before Gunyah making these miniatures, which are a return to a project I did in 2010 (my honours year) where I made a 1:100 replication of my house with video screens in the windows. These 2021 miniatures are made with balsa wood and various materials around my house, except for the wheelchair I bought online, as I didn’t have time to make it before Gunyah. These are for a video work called Body says, No. The work involves a directional soundtrack and movement. I spent a few nights filming these and hope to have the video and soundtrack complete next month.


Danica I. J. Knezevic, Miniatures for work in progress - Body says, No


Danica I. J. Knezevic, Miniatures for work in progress - Body says, No

 

Danica I. J. Knezevic, Work in progress - Body says, No

 

A dear friend and artist Cherine Fahd came up for an evening where we swam and enjoyed the jetty. The calm and movement of the waves brought much contemplation. I have to say the Jetty was the place I visited daily and spent a lot of time sitting and laying there writing and thinking.


Cherine Fahd on the Gunyah jetty

Danica I. J. Knezevic filming on the Gunyah jetty

Taking my camera out and performing and filming on beautiful Worimi Country was such an honour and blessing. I am grateful for the opportunity. Thank you so much, Gunyah and everyone that makes this possible. The making and time I spent were irreplaceable.


Danica I. J. Knezevic at Gunyah


Danica I. J. Knezevic

Gunyah residency report, November 2021

dijk.com.au 

@danicaijk

Upcoming artist-in-residence: Danica I. J. Knezevic

Danica I. J. Knezevic

Danica I. J. Knezevic is a performance artist who lives on Dharug Country in Western Sydney. She works across endurance performance, video, audiovisual installation and photography. Her practice lead research investigates her autobiographical experiences through psychology, in particular the negotiation between self and other through caregiving. Danica's work and practice also analyse gender, cultural identity and queer theory. She finds meaning by using her body and actions as a metaphor to bridge the gap between the self and the other.


Danica I. J. Knezevic, Caregiving: Making Meaning: Art as Acts of Care, 2020, Performance

Danica has recently completed her PhD at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney. Her research focuses on her role and experience as a carer, titled: Holding space: The negotiation of Self and Other in Performative Art Practice as a site of Caregiving. In 2013 she completed a Master of Fine Arts at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney and was the co-recipient of the Dominik Mersch Award. She completed her Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design with Honours at Australian Catholic University, Strathfield, where she was awarded the Arts and Science award for the video installation, Bermuda, 2009. Over the last five years Danica has exhibited at University Technology Sydney, Bus Projects Melbourne, Verge Gallery Sydney, Trocadero Melbourne, Modern Art Projects Blue Mountains, AirSpace Projects Sydney and Articulate Project Space Sydney. She is currently a contemporary art, sessional lecturer at Australian Catholic University at Strathfield and University of Technology, Sydney. 

 
Danica I. J. Knezevic, Dissolution Line, 2017, video duration 07:54. https://www.dijk.com.au/Dissolution-Line

During my Gunyah residency, I will be focusing on two works. The first are some experimental gestural performances that investigate care in relation to my cultural upbringing, specifically Croatian/Slovenian Diasporic experience. and secondly, I will be filming models for care equipment that I have made for a work called "Body says, No".

Danica I. J. Knezevic, Maintaining Rhythm, 2019, Video/Performance. 
https://vimeo.com/356553057


To see more of Danica's work go to her website dijk.com.au and folllow her on instagram @danicaijk

Vanessa Berry new book: Gentle and Fierce

Congratulations to Vanessa Berry on the publication of Gentle and Fierce - some of which was written during Vanessa's residency at Gunyah last year! 
This copy will join the Gunyah bookshelf for future visitors and artists-in-residence to enjoy.

Vanessa Berry, Gentle and Fierce - front cover

"Much of my writing hinges around a question: where do our memories reside? Within ourselves, of course, but they are always connected to the places, people, beings and objects that have played meaningful roles in our lives. 

In Gentle and Fierce I reflect on animals, and how my life stories have been shaped by their presence. These essays and illustrations form a discontinuous memoir, based around the animals and animal representations that have expanded my perceptions and sense of self. 

Having spent my lifetime in city environments, many of my experiences with animals have been through daily encounters with domestic and urban animals, as well as through representations of animals in art, literature, media and domestic objects. I have found that these encounters, rather than being mundane or remote, can provide a way of connecting with animal lives. The accompanying hand-drawn illustrations of significant objects from the essays reflect this personal perspective and understanding.

The time in which my life is occurring is a turning point for the planet. Environmental change and destruction have escalated to the point at which extinction of species and disruption of ecosystems is occurring on a vast scale. The cycles and forces at work within this can feel epic in scope, beyond the orbit of any one individual life, but are also the cumulative effects of countless human actions, decisions and propensities. In this lies the possibility of change. By drawing attention to the many ways our lives are interconnected with animals, I hope that Gentle and Fierce will give readers a sense of this potential.’’

Vanessa Berry: a note on ‘Gentle and Fierce’ 

Vanessa Berry, Gentle and Fierce - back cover

Gentle and Fierce is availble at many Australian bookstores and Giramondo Publishing giramondopublishing.com/books/gentle-and-fierce/
 
To find out more about Vanessa Berry's writing go to her website vanessaberryworld.wordpress.com and @vanessaberryworld

Vanessa Berry, Gentle and Fierce - acknowlegements 


Residency report: James Vicars

James Vicars, Writing by the water, August 2021 

Silence. A cool, easy silence overlaid by the rustle of the breeze through the trees, the occasional, shrill bird cry, and the always-present lapping of water… As much as anything, this was my experience at Gunyah for my two week residency, and it set the tone for what I did. It must be a very different place in warmer weather or school holidays – or almost anytime covid lockdowns don’t apply! There was hardly any road traffic, hardly any machine noise other than boats (no mowers and blowers) and only the odd person or two walking their dogs in the evening. It was perfect for my stay because it provided spaciousness for thought and inspiration. 

James Vicars, Gunyah trees, August 2021 

And that’s because I’ve been developing a project in fiction, a story about growing up and grappling with confusing times, and it needed a sustained period of work to launch it. I’m excited that it’s moved forward quite well, alongside the memoir about the 2019 fires in which we lost our own place in the bush. I’ve written a substantial journal as the basis for this, though it still needs shaping as a memoir. The Gunyah and its beautiful environment provided space for contemplation of this, and I offer my sincere thanks. However, it also prompted some powerful connections with the themes of this writing.

James Vicars, Gunyah deck railing, August 2021 

The first evening I arrived I went down to the water and saw a tall sloop under sail moving gently up the cove, the westerly breeze on her quarter. She was making way slowly, perhaps because the tide was low. Though this channel looks safe enough, it’s a reminder that we mustn’t take the natural world for granted. These mariners took care; on the water your life can depend on it. On land you might forget, but the oyster shells on the water’s edge can still cut your feet, trees can drop branches and fire can roar through their canopies. Around Gunyah this is a risk at times, but in my writing about the fires of 2019-20 and what can be learned from them, it’s still plain that we need to work with trees: without them the land would be scorched, infertile and windblown. And so many animals have their homes in them – I love how the trees and native bush below the house hasn’t been turned into lawn! But the bigger picture shows that the truly dire risk is notto do everything we can to secure the strongest action on global warming. The science is absolutely clear, and the IPCC’s new report, released while I’ve been here, contains the starkest of warnings. So, I urge every one us to speak up to other people, companies and politicians in your own voices – we must use our courage and not hold back out of embarrassment or fear. That is what will best protect the Gunyah and its trees, animals, air and water, a world within the greater world, for our children and their children.

James Vicars, Gunyah lights, August 2021 


My cereal bowl propped among rocks

and oysters, clear water shimmering;

a fish flickers and a wading heron

snaps up breakfast on the tide.


James Vicars, Gunyah jetty, August 2021 



James Vicars, Gunyah residency report, August 2021



Residency report: Patricia Petersen

Up until this year I had been living in Armidale and 2020 had been a trying year for many in regional NSW with drought, bushfires and smoke. The vegetation was recovering and rejuvenating, when Covid struck both attacking bodies and people’s sense of well being. 2021 has also been disorientating and exhausting year for me as we sold our home of many years in Armidale, moving twice before settling into our new home on the NSW north coast. I was still unpacking boxes in my home studio when I took off to do the Gunyah Artists Residency. It was an absolute delight to set up in the well-lit Gunyah studio which had an inspiring outlook. Gunyah provided a welcome elixir and antidote to all the recent upheavals I’d experienced. I felt safe, cocooned, and nurtured in this peaceful, idyllic space. 

Patricia Petersen, Gunyah views, July 2021


Gunyah was a totally different environment to any I had stayed in before, with its tranquil ambiance and mesmerising views, it started to work its magic immediately. Living so close to the water with the gentle sound of it lapping on the shore, the strong smell of bush plants, the many bird calls, the look and feel of the different textures and dappled light, heightened my senses and gave me an increased awareness of my surroundings. I was inspired to respond to this environment and ‘bottle it’ for my memory, as well as for reference for future artworks. As a result, I have come away with a swath of drawings and paintings made using charcoal, pencil, pens, watercolours, and Asian ink on drawing papers, Arches watercolour paper, raw canvas and rice paper.


Patricia Petersen, Gunyah wattle, July 2021

The subject matter and inspiration came from the immediate Gunyah environment. The newly blossoming wattle, the tall gums and their leaves, the hill across from the jetty, the water and the oyster shell laced coloured rocks outside and in the water glistening with light caught my imagination. I even used the water that I scooped up from the near the jetty to mix my paints and inks. I not only wanted Gunyah to be a muse, but to be part of the artworks themselves.


Patricia Petersen, Gunyah water, July 2021


I had friendly visits from the local wildlife, like the young Kookaburra and Pied Butcher bird that sat on the verandahs as various times, and I was excited when I heard dolphins breathing and saw them swim by whilst painting near the jetty. Friends from Taree that I hadn’t seen for many years spent a day with me and we had a delicious French lunch at Tillermans at Tea Gardens.

In the evenings in front of the cosy log fire burner, instead of watching TV serials in the evening I recorded my day and read 'The Last Painting of Sara De Vos' by Australian writer Dominic Smith.

I have come away refreshed and revitalised with a wealth of reference drawings and paintings. I recorded my response and impressions of Gunyah and value the new ideas for future paintings the experience has given me. As importantly, it has also given me a clearer picture of where my art practice is heading.

Patricia Petersen, Gunyah residency report, July 2021


Patricia Petersen, Self-portait at Gunyah, July 2021



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