“You know this story, it’s Greek.”
For his first London solo show, Australian artist Woody Mellor presents At Least it’s Warm. A play on the resonances of Greek myth and tragedy that echo throughout life and popular culture, Woody’s exhibition of new work exploits this cultural tendency as he sets the stage for an Orphean journey to the antipodean underworld.
Layered with his own awkward dependence on pop-cultural references as a sort of social prosthesis, Woody rehashes this well-worn tale of the artist and his journey ‘down under’ in a mass of cheap theatrical tricks, papier mâché fountains, Australiana and some old Hollywood scene painting. Welcome to the underworld…where at least it’s warm.
For his first London solo show, Australian artist Woody Mellor presents At Least it’s Warm. A play on the resonances of Greek myth and tragedy that echo throughout life and popular culture, Woody’s exhibition of new work exploits this cultural tendency as he sets the stage for an Orphean journey to the antipodean underworld.
Layered with his own awkward dependence on pop-cultural references as a sort of social prosthesis, Woody rehashes this well-worn tale of the artist and his journey ‘down under’ in a mass of cheap theatrical tricks, papier mâché fountains, Australiana and some old Hollywood scene painting. Welcome to the underworld…where at least it’s warm.
Hats In The Belfry chronicles the Guinness-fuelled journey of three young painters from the eerie landscapes of The Burren to the grey streets of Galway. A fabled trip, defined for these young men by three distinct encounters with loneliness, perfectly embodied in an unexpected conversation with a homeless Jazz Mandolin player; the window-displayed artwork of a marine painter; and the comedic recurrence of a fictional character—Withnail and I's actorly Uncle Monty.
In this exhibition, Anthony Banks, Alex Gibbs and Woody Mellor consider these embodiments of loneliness in the face of their own lonely profession and the ever-present artistic desire to simply be heard. This trip, and indeed these three characters become a sort of conduit for the artists’ own loneliness and self-indulgence. For anyone who will listen.
In this exhibition, Anthony Banks, Alex Gibbs and Woody Mellor consider these embodiments of loneliness in the face of their own lonely profession and the ever-present artistic desire to simply be heard. This trip, and indeed these three characters become a sort of conduit for the artists’ own loneliness and self-indulgence. For anyone who will listen.
Note for film. 12-10-2014
A man accidentally inherits all the magical powers of Prospero.
Caliban:
Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
The Tempest
Act III, Scene II Another part of the island
William Shakespere
A man accidentally inherits all the magical powers of Prospero.
Caliban:
Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
The Tempest
Act III, Scene II Another part of the island
William Shakespere
The Curious Case of The Newspaper Parcel, performed with live narration as a part of artist presentation for Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan, Ireland.
Thanks to whomever sent me this parcel.
Thanks to whomever sent me this parcel.
You will experience the unexpected phenomena and marvels of far-off lands, obscured through time and space. Banding together, Andrew and David Wood, Isaac Clarke, Oliver Hull and Woody Mellor interpret these landscapes through the distorted lenses of myth and fiction!
Be led by Oliver as he traces the mythical location of Hyperborea through its legacy in the scientific taxonomy of the Arctic Circle’s flora.
Be led by Oliver as he traces the mythical location of Hyperborea through its legacy in the scientific taxonomy of the Arctic Circle’s flora.
Watch as The Wood Bros. venture to a vast and desolate place that seems to claim more than can tame it; the famed, carnivorous Australian Desert! Its appetite insatiable; humans, animals and myths are its prey!
Travel to the fiery planet of Mars with Isaac to find the familiar landscapes of your favourite Spaghetti Westerns - Bad Lands, Nevada.
Now, in a museum that no one has ever seen, one man must explore it alone and recount his sights and adventures… Listen as Olegas Truchanas - sole witness to the museum’s sublime grandeur - presents to you ‘An Audio Guide through the Hyperborean Weeds & Termite Mounds of Mars!’
Travel to the fiery planet of Mars with Isaac to find the familiar landscapes of your favourite Spaghetti Westerns - Bad Lands, Nevada.
Now, in a museum that no one has ever seen, one man must explore it alone and recount his sights and adventures… Listen as Olegas Truchanas - sole witness to the museum’s sublime grandeur - presents to you ‘An Audio Guide through the Hyperborean Weeds & Termite Mounds of Mars!’
Variation On A Theme
September 2013.
Presented at MaxArt Office Space.
thanks to Emma Buswell
MaxArt operated as a temporary art gallery that was established in a small, two-person office-space in one of Perth's tallest sky scrapers; making use of the increasing glut of empty office-space in Perth's Central Business District.
Inspired by corporate office aesthetics and an ongoing interest in alternative exhibition spaces, the project was undertaken over three months in 2013, as a part of an Art Source grant awarded to Emma Buswell.
September 2013.
Presented at MaxArt Office Space.
thanks to Emma Buswell
MaxArt operated as a temporary art gallery that was established in a small, two-person office-space in one of Perth's tallest sky scrapers; making use of the increasing glut of empty office-space in Perth's Central Business District.
Inspired by corporate office aesthetics and an ongoing interest in alternative exhibition spaces, the project was undertaken over three months in 2013, as a part of an Art Source grant awarded to Emma Buswell.
