Exhibitions September-October 2009

preview Wednesday 16 September from 6pm

 This is the first solo exhibition of Emily Valentine’s work in New Zealand. Originally from Wellington, Valentine has been based in Sydney for many years where she trained at the Royal Art College.

 Feathers are Valentine’s paint and over the last ten years she has developed her own technique and style using feathers from road kill, cat kill and dead pets. Recently she moved into a new and sometimes contentious source of feathers. She has been organizing the trapping and killing of the registered pest, the Indian Mynah bird. With these feathers she made Mynah Collie 2007, a feathered dog, one from her dog flu series, and it was awarded a merit prize in the Norseweart, the New Zealand Contemporary Art Award.

 Galah Collie was acquired by the Northern Territory Craft Council in the 2007 Acquisition Prize. A Pair of Pugcocks were included in the Duke prize at the Gold Coast Regional Gallery.

 Valentine wants to discuss how attitudes to wearing animals and birds parts have changed. Is this just because of fashion, or has society become more caring of animals? Her wish is to stimulate the viewer with the uncomfortable nature of the feather, to question our callousness treatment of animals and birds, and ask how we sub-consciously classify animals – pet or pest, valued or worthless, beautiful or plain and why.