A Room with a View – Ali McCann
“Let yourself go. Pull out from the depths those thoughts that you do not understand, and spread them out in the sunlight and know the meaning of them.”
Dear Friends
Today we’re showcasing our first artwork in connection with A Room with a View by Melbourne-based artist Ali McCann, whose artwork Karen (2019) pictured above, adorns the walls of my home.
McCann is known for her nostalgic mise-en-scéne photographs, videos and sculptural works. Found artworks, teaching materials and studio detritus are lovingly modified, arranged and assembled by the artist, creating a space between reality and its mental representation.
In 2019 McCann presented Karen (2019) as part of the exhibition ‘Οι νεοί’ at Gertrude Contemporary in Melbourne.
Drawing upon historical materials and objects used to teach the principles of mathematics, physics, art and textile design, the exhibition sought to question the school experience in the discovery of self, along with the perception of the larger societal role of teachers and their philosophies.
Below are my reflections upon my much-loved artwork. In keeping with this project's focus upon the idea of the home as a place for nurturing our creative or inner selves, this personal account seeks to explore the place of this work in my home and in my life.
This is followed by an invitation to join us in McCann's 'viewing room', to be opened this coming Tuesday 9 June - along with a little auditory clue from the world of music to pique your interest as to what you might discover.
A finalist of the National Photography Prize 2020 and recently featured in Art Collector magazine under “What next: Four new artists on our radar”, just one of many recent accolades, McCann’s work is fast becoming recognised for the reputation she deserves.
We hope you will join us.
With best wishes
Emma Thomson
Seeking ‘her’ - A personal reflection
“Je suis l’space où je suis (I am the space where I am).”
Virtual Opening
A Room with a View - Ali McCann
Opening Date: Tuesday 9 June
“While sometimes appearing to be collaged/digitally constructed, Karen (2019) and the other works in the series, are all captured in a single frame ... ”
Work in-progress, 2020 (detail), video still, © Ali McCann
To learn more about Karen (2019) and McCann's broader practice, join us for a virtual tour of her 'Room with a View', featuring an interview with the artist and her brand new video made in connection with the project.
In the 'viewing room', register to join our conversation with the artist to be live-streamed. You can also pre-nominate your questions for the artist here.
To inspire you to join us for the imaginative journey ahead, listen in to the track below which inspired McCann during her making process.
The track - 'Mutual Delusion' - comes from the album 'Second of Spring' by Australian psych rock quintet Beaches, who you can read more about here.
Ever modest about her achievements, McCann is one fifth of this talented group of musicians. You might notice that the album cover is also Ali’s distinctive work.
Biography
Ali McCann (Naarm / Melbourne) is preoccupied with the constructed nature of photography and the possibilities of creating alternate visual and psychological realities through the mode of still-life. Her aesthetics derive from outdated art history pocket guides, 1970s art-and-design text books, photographic instruction manuals, old amateur photography magazines, and also from the high school interiors of my adolescence. Nostalgic imagery and the representations of memory intersect ambiguously with the theoretical notions of visual perception and the aesthetics of education.
Since the early 2000s McCann has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney and regional Victoria. Recent solo exhibitions include Having an Experience / Energy Organisation, St Francis, Melbourne (2019), Οι νέοι, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne (2019), Masks for Magicians, Caves, Melbourne (2018); Polytechnic, Tristian Koenig, Melbourne, (2018), An Introduction to Liminal Aesthetics, c3 contemporary art space, Melbourne (2017), and Throwing off the Hump, Kings Artist Run, Melbourne (2017). Recent group exhibitions include National Photography Prize, MAMA Murray Art Museum, Albury (2020) and Still Life Pt. III, Lon Gallery, Melbourne (2019).
She holds a Master of Contemporary Art from the Victorian College of the Arts along with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from the Victorian College of the Arts and a Graduate Diploma of Education, all from the University of Melbourne. She currently teaches photographic studies and Art History at an art and design college in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria (AUS).
