Strange Deeply - Katrina Simmons

Opening - 12:00 AM - Thursday, 14th of July

Artist Talk - 6:00 PM

Running - 14 Jul 2011 - 30 Jul 2011

In Jean Luc Godard's 1965 movie Alphaville: The Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution, words are continually removed from the official dictionary. Poetry, conscience, why and love have all been banned but also weeping, autumn light and tenderness. In Godards', futuristic dystopia emotionless citizens are ruled by technology and the logic of science has replaced the independent thought of artists, thinkers and poets. Strange deeply, a new exhibition by Katrina Simmons opening July 13th at FELTSpace, draws on Godard's screenplay, among other things, to investigate the slipperiness of contemporary meanings. Utilising a diverse range of materials, including beeswax, paint, concrete, leather, thread and found objects, these new sculptures are deliberately provisional or process based as she argues that "meaningless" work also reflects an important understanding of lived experience.

Katrina Simmons is an installation and sculptural artist whose work deals with failure, dysfunction and instability within social communication and interpersonal relationships. Her recent work has been concerned with the breakdowns and ruptures that occur between the internalised anxieties of the artist and contemporary socio-cultural and political systems. Katrina holds a PhD in Visual Arts from the University of South Australia (2009). She has exhibited in solo shows at the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia and Adelaide Central School of Art. Group exhibitions include Epic Fail(FELTspace, 2010); Room (CAST, Hobart, 2007); Something Shows Something to Someone(Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 2006); Snapshot: Contemporary South Australian Art(Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, 2006); and Modern Love (Downtown Art Space, Adelaide). Katrina is also active in arts writing and has lectured extensively in the visual arts at TAFESA and the University of South Australia.