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Shelter: On Kindness
An exhibition bringing together more than 50 artists, architects, writers and
philosophers to explore the notion of shelter and kindness will open at RMIT
Gallery on 25 September.
Curated by Suzanne Davies, Vanessa Gerrans and Sarah Morris, Shelter: On
Kindness explores philosophical and material concepts of shelter.
Presented by RMIT Gallery in association with ArtPlay and Melbourne International
Arts Festival, the exhibition examines ideas of nurture and kindness through the
filter of the writings of UK psychoanalyst and author Adam Phillips, who argues that
we have a deep need to be kind to each other and we crave kindness with
intensity. “Real kindness is an exchange with essentially unpredictable
consequences,” he said.
Chief Curator and Gallery Director, Suzanne Davies, said this idea was reflected in
the exhibition, which was a bold experiment, the results and impact of which as a
show would continue to resonate beyond the moment of material completion of the
artworks.
“The exhibition brief was not prescriptive. Participants were asked to respond
instinctively to the notions of shelter and kindness,” Ms Davies said. “Everyone
involved has had to work together, demonstrating their ability to accommodate
each other’s desires and needs.”
The scene-stealer is a 4m-high contemporary Japanese teahouse built inside the
gallery by internationally renowned Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori, who is
visiting Melbourne for the exhibition.
Professor Fujimori, who will conduct a public lecture about his work at RMIT Storey
Hall on 6 October, has incorporated wood from bushfire-affected areas in his
teahouse. Gathered and tied together by RMIT Gallery staff and RMIT Architecture
students, this material reflects the loss of shelter in Victoria.
The teahouse is just one of many giant shelters constructed in the gallery. March
Studio is using 20 tonnes of sustainable timber to create an almost 5m nest to hide
inside, while Gregory Burgess and Pip Stokes incorporate 400 blocks of beeswax,
weighing more than 9kg each, into their structure.
Shelter: On Kindness is at RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne, from 25
September to 25 October.
Watch an interview with Adam Phillips about shelter and kindness on
Media enquiries: RMIT Gallery, Evelyn Tsitas, (03) 9925 1716 or 0408 139 015.
High-resolution images available on request.
18 September, 2009
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