There are many perks to the job at Curtin University and this one has us kicking off the work day with a moving experience in the gallery.

Staff can register via News and Events in the Staff Portal to attend a Stretch and Relaxation workshop held amongst the exhibition Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop during the month of August.

Learn a series of stretches which aim to release physical and mental tension. Stretch and Relaxation classes includes an easy warm-up, whole body stretching exercises, balance, and relaxation.

The 45-minute session caters to all experience levels.

Note: Stretch and Relaxation is carried out on the floor so please bring a yoga mat if you have one (some floor mats will be available), or a towel for your comfort. You will be required to wear clothing that allows for stretching and activity.

The John Curtin Gallery is proud to be part of Curtin’s Healthy Lifestyle Program.

Artist

Lindy Lee is an Australian artist (born Brisbane 1954). Lee’s practice explores her Chinese ancestry through Taoism and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism – philosophies that see humanity and nature as inextricably linked. Symbolic gestures and processes that call on the element of chance are often used to produce a galaxy of images that embody the intimate connections between human existence and the cosmos. Lee’s works are intentionally slow to impart their secrets. Rather than singular visual statements, they are thoughtful objects where meaning emerges from sustained meditation.

Investigating and questioning multiplicity of self has remained a central concern in Lee’s practice. From her early works that referenced the Western canon of portraiture and questioned the notion of authenticity in artistic practice, to her more recent use of family photos that reflect on the experiences of loss and transition spanning five generations of travel from China to Australia. Lee’s work, as a Chinese-Australian artist, has been crucial to visualising the experience of Chinese diaspora in a country that has historically whitewashed its multiculturalism.

Lee’s painterly techniques of wax splatters and ink spills reference the ancient Chinese practice of ‘flung ink painting’, as performed by Ch’an (Zen) Buddhists. Lee has also developed these splatter gestures into sculptural forms by throwing searing molten bronze on to the foundry floor, which embodied the Buddhist act of renewal where all that is held inside oneself is released. Such mark-marking emphasises one’s presence in the moment, and can also be seen in Lee’s repetition of burning holes in photographs, on paper scrolls and through sheets of metal. Each mark-marking gesture is a pitch into eternity – meeting with this moment – indeed in Buddhism eternity isn’t anywhere else but here, there is only this moment of now.

LINDY LEE: MOON IN A DEW DROP

3 JUNE – 28 AUGUST 2022

Lindy Lee is one of the most respected contemporary artists working in Australia today. Influential Australian Chinese artist, Lindy Lee, explores identity, history, spirituality and our relationship to the cosmos. She creates meditative works using light, shadow and scale across many artforms. Moon in a Dew Drop takes an in-depth look at four decades of extraordinary practice.

Working across a range of disciplines including painting, sculpture, installation and public art, Lee draws on her Australian and Chinese heritage to develop works that engage with the history of art, cultural authenticity, personal identity and the cosmos. Key influences are the philosophies of Daoism and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism, which explore the connections between humanity and nature.

Take in shimmering, meditative and thought-provoking works in her major survey exhibition which draws on her experience of living between two cultures.