The Art Journal
Reflections on the making of The Art of Navy
My new exhibition, the Art of Navy, running at the Australian National Maritime Museum from Oct 3 – 30 has allowed me to explore totally new concepts and outputs in my art practice. The full story behind the genesis of the exhibition is told in a new film, the Making of the Art of Navy that is showing as part of the exhibition and can be viewed here. The usual output for my artwork is a limited edition print on a fine art paper, known as Giclee paper, a form of paper that had its manufacturing roots in the 15th century. The porous quality of the paper when used with water based ink jet printers enables the final artwork to look very much like a watercolour painting. Given my practice is based around light and water, this process of printing best represented the creative intention behind the making of my art to date. The Art of Navy commission gave me the opportunity to create very large scale works. This came with its own constraints. The Giclee paper printing options are limited in width to 1.6 meters high and traditional picture framing methods on works of this size can be complicated. So what other print output options for six large scale 2.4metre x 1.6 metre artworks might support works of this size and how might that change my conceptual thinking behind the works . I began exploring the world of digital reproduction as fine art work. Options included using a heat transference process sublimating the image into metal. Again size constraints precluded that option. So the choice was based around the last option available – printing directly onto a large scale acrylic panel cut to size. This printing process involves four layers of colour being instantaneously applied to the panel. The first layer prints the full colour image directly onto the acrylic, the second layer is a coat of white printed over the full colour image to ensure light diffusion off the surface, the third layer is a repeat of the original colour image onto the coat of white and the fourth and final layer is another layer of white to ensure the full dynamic colour range in the artwork resolves. A light box with LEDs was specially designed and built to back light each artwork exposing its translucent qualities. Finally, black metal frames were constructed to hold the acrylic panels in the light boxes. In this way, the basis of the artwork became more than a still image on paper or canvas with a frame. It transformed into a contemporary sculptured artwork. Slowly but surely as I viewed the completed artworks several times the difference in the fabrication method – the acrylic pane, the digital printing, the light box and its lighting system - revealed a significant change in my perception of the work. Suddenly, the work was no longer a painterly impression. It was as close to the actual water with the reflection on it hanging on the gallery wall! This is a very exciting breakthrough for me. What if I could create a whole floor of these artworks on which viewers could walk and experience spatially the actual moment of capture of the artwork!
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The Opening of the Art of Navy Exhibition
I was absolutely honoured to have the Chief of Navy open the Art of Navy exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum to-day The people I have to thank for this wonderful project and not necessarily in this order are Rear Admiral Mark Hammond who had a hunch; Malcolm Moir, a long time friend and Head of Foundation and Development, Australian National Maritime Museum; Alexandra Gaffikin, Head of Design and Interpretation who smiled when I showed her the original works and told me the reason - "not at all what I was expecting and I love it..." An absolute delight to work with Alex. The Navy team who were given responsibility for the delivery of the project - Captain Charlie Stephenson and especially Commander Natasha Burney. Neither Charlie nor Natasha had previously worked in the arts or with an artist and yes, we had some difficult discussions. However I couldn't have asked for better support in the end. I learnt much about Navy personnel that has changed my mind about those who enter the defence forces and serve our nation. And last but most importantly the great creative team I worked with and who now will receive the accolades they deserve. Poet Andy Singh who gave me the narrative for the works; filmmaker Larry Meltzer who made a superb 8 minute film the Making of the Art of Navy that is accompanying the exhibition; Graham Maslen and Steven Smedley book publisher and graphic designer respectively, Dr Gary Willisn who wrote an erudite critical essay on the work and its themes. Donald Robertson, book editor who was late for the opening and thus missed all the photo opportunities whilst making a huge difference to the book content. At least we made the book deadline, Donald Robertson! Stefan Kahn, exhibition design and last and most importantly, the artwork fabricators, Flash Graphics and in particular owner, Fredrik Uden who turned my photographs into sculptural artworks!! More details at the Art of Navy web site. The exhibition runs to October 30, 2019.
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Enter Art Foundation, Berlin Germany Exhibition video
A short video on the Enter Art Foundation exhibition from Berlin Art Week 2018 in whcih two of my artworks are featured.
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Art Critic/Historian/Theorist Dr Gary Willis on Ralph Kerle’s Gold in The Desert Dubai UAE Exhibition
“In the hands of the wise the earth turns to gold – Rumi..” These magnificent photographs by Ralph Kerle reflect the glittering essence of Dubai’s golden dream that lay buried in its sands for centuries. I have known Ralph for 40 years now and been a keen follower of his journey into photography since its inception. This is, in fact, the second catalogue essay I have written on his work. But Ralph’s images of Dubai are profoundly different to his images of Sydney. In these shimmering reflections of Dubai arising from the depths of its own ingenuity, Ralph seems to have reinvented himself as an alchemist – transforming all that he sees into pure gold. Clearly these are images of a dazzlingly smart city, built from the good fortune of black gold – oil, but in Ralph’s mirror of Dubai we witness the transformative act of an alchemist at work in ‘the richest gold mine in the known universe’ – the imagination. At origin the word Alchemy derives from ancient Arabic sources in the word Kimiya meaning – black – and has given rise to Al Kimiya – Alchemy - and the metaphysical search for that which brings life into perfection; the spiritual act of the self-transformation from formless base matter into pure gold. This is the production that the alchemists call ‘the hermetic wedding’ which produces ‘the son of the sun’ – The Philosopher’s Stone in whose radiant light we appreciate the alchemical significance of Rumi’s famous line, In the hands of the wise the earth transforms into gold. However, although long since discredited as a pseudo-science, the alchemical act of self-transformation remains as mysterious as ever. The 16th century physicist, astronomer and mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton, began his research as a alchemist in search of The Philosopher’s Stone and as an early alchemist Newton identifies as an arcane and spiritual man, who believed all natural phenomena were motivated by spiritual forces, not merely physical events. Alongside his examinations of natural phenomena, Newton catalogues alchemical phenomenon such as 'Neptune's Trident', 'Mercury's Caducean Rod' and the 'Green Lion'. Today we are in no doubt that gold is a rare element, that which requires a cataclysmic thermo-nuclear event to forge the nucleus of its sub-atomic structure. The Big-Bang produced carbon and oxygen, but it takes the collapse of a star, such as our own sun, to create a thermo-nuclear event required to produce hydrogen and helium. Such an event is called a supernova. But still it requires the collapse of a star five times the size of our sun, to initiate the thermo-nuclear event required to emit Iron (Fe). The collapsing core of such a supernova becomes a neutron star, whose nucleus is compressed into unbelievably dense matter. For example, just one teaspoon of neutron star matter would be heavier than the entire mass of Mt. Everest. However, to produce gold it takes the further collapse of two such neutron stars in what is called a kilonova event. Only a kilonova event is capable of forging the sub-atomic structures of a neutron star, to create the heavier elements of the periodic table, such as Gold (Au), Platinum (Pt) and Uranium (U). In October 2018, for the very first time ever, astrophysicists detected such a kilonova event, as a gamma-ray burst emanating from the other side of the universe – 130 million light years away. This cataclysmic merger of two neutron stars generated ripples in the time-space gravitational field surpassing astronomer’s expectations but confirming their theoretical modelling. The radioactive debris emanating from this cataclysmic kilonova began as plumes of the lighter elements, such as Silver (Ag), but soon gave rise to the heavier elements, such as Gold (Au) and Uranium(U). Scientists have since quantified the amount of gold produced in this single event at about 200 times the mass of the Earth and confirmed the kilonova as the only possible origin of gold in the entire Universe. So there goes any idea that an Alchemist could produce real gold. However Ralph Kerle’s golden photographs of Dubai, reflect the gold of the human spirit. In this regard we must return to the recollections of Rumi – the thirteenth century Islamic scholar and poet. “What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean? There’s no point in giving you my heart and soul because you have them already. So I bring you a mirror to gaze at yourself and perhaps remember me.” This, I believe, is the gift that Ralph Kerle’s photographs of Dubai offer – the gift of self-reflection.
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10 Seconds to A Yellow Artwork
The 10 seconds nature offers me to make a digital work and how nature reveals the work
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New Work's from Sydney, Portugal, Dubai
A quick view walking past Ralph Kerle's Gallery with his new works from Australia, Portugal and Dubai
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Paradoelia - the State of Unconscious Inference
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="750"] Unconscious Inference 2 - 1500 x 1000mm [/caption] Often when I see an image for the first time I think is worthy of being a potential new piece, I attempt to title it. Sometimes the title comes immediately. The abstraction in the work is apparent at first glance and will name itself. At other times, titling the work is a real challenge. Sometimes an artwork will simply not give up a title that seems a suitable descriptor for the content in the work.In my favourite current read “the Age of Insight” , written by Eric Kandel, Nobel Prize Winner and Founder, the Center of Neurobiology and Behaviour, Columbia University, offers an interesting explanation as to why this might be the case.Kandel suggests our brains have an upward and downwards sensemaking operating mechanism. In the front of our forehead lies the thalamus. This part of the brain operates as a major learning mechanism through its interactions with the external world. It is here where the brain first encounters the experience of seeing, hearing, smelling before it enters the cerebral cortex. At the back of our skull lies the hindbrain made up of the cerebellum, pons and medulla, the repository of our genetically pre-disposed sense of being. It is the part of the brain that deals with our innate sense of survival.A connection along the brain’s synapses must occur between these two elements for us to make sense of our world. These connections occur rapidly, continually in the moment, as we sense and filter the stimuli in the world in which we live.Therefore it is not uncommon, indeed some would argue it is common, for external stimuli the brain doesn’t immediately recognize, results in an illusion. The brain needs to have an immediate answer for what we are experiencing in the moment so it can ready itself for its next moment of perception. This phenomenon is called paradoelia, a mental state that can be described as the tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as seeing shapes in clouds, seeing faces in inanimate objects or abstract patterns, or hearing hidden messages in music.Kandel calls this phenomenon the state of unconscious inference. This is what I am experiencing when my brain is seeking to title a work. I tried and tried to name this new piece. The two elements of my brain failed to make a meaningful connection so I have titled it “Unconscious Inference 2” the artwork to hold this nomenclature. Perhaps your brain might perceive this differently, make a quick connection and come up with a better title. How did your brain experience this artwork?
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Ralph Kerle's Art in Portugal
WelcomeToArt Gallery, Embaixada, Principe Real, Lisbon, Portugal I was honoured to be asked to participate in a new group exhibition at the WelcomeToArt Art Gallery in one of Lisbon’s hip new concept/gallery spaces, Embaixada, Praça do príncipe real 26,1° 1250-184. The exhibition included three up and coming Portuguese photographers Teresa Marques dos Santos, Jorje and award winning José Esteves Martins providing me with an opportunity to expose my work and to interact with the Portuguese fine art photographic community.Following the exhibition opening, I went on a location scout along the coast line and water ways of Portugal that will result a series of new works out of Portugal in 2019. This first work comes from Aveiro in northern Portugal often referred to as the Venice of Portugal. This work has opened up a new theme that I have entitled Buildings on Water, Buildings on Water 1, Aveiro Portugal. 1600 x 1061mm
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A Good Eye
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="750"] Desert Water Groove 1650 x 1275 Dubai Marina, Dubai UAE Nov 12 5.24pm [/caption] A Good Eye Regularly viewers of my work tell me I have a “good” eye. The reality is I have very very bad eyesight. I have a serious eye condition known as keratoconus. Keratoconus is the slow deterioration and ultimate death of the muscles in the cornea, the surface of the eye. In the mid-1980s I had a corneal transplant that reclaimed sight in my right eye and I am legally blind in my left eye without a hard contact lens that holds my deteriorating cornea in place for the moment.A recent trip to my eye surgeon provided totally unexpected insight – the pun is intended – as to how this condition plays into my artistic practice and why I see the world the way I do.The surgeon had sitting in on the consultation a trainee ophthalmologist and in a brief exchange between the two as the surgeon was looking into my eyes through his phoropter, the surgeon explained keratoconus sufferers see the world in a unique way. A normal cornea has the firmness and shape of a camera lens allowing the brain immediate focus in any given moment. On the other hand, keratoconus sufferers are always seeing shapes with slightly blurred or haloed edges. Their brains have learnt to accept this abnormality in focus searching for movement and stillness to enable perception as distinct from those with normal eyesight whose brains register immediate sharpness on focus. The images I create come as a result of my brain harnessing the uniqueness of the way my eyes see the world. I am often asked by viewers “what am I looking at ?”and on reflection the viewer is observing my subconscious at work, actively interacting with my impaired body - specifically my deeply damaged eyesight..At last, an explanation perhaps for the “good” eye.
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A Painting from the East - or is it? A Case of Pareidolia
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="750"] A Painting from the East 1, 2100 x 1170mm Signed Limited Edition of 5. [/caption] I love discovering new works, trying to make sense of them and how they speak to me as I create and name them. In the process, I try constantly to find ways of describing the thinking behind my creative work concisely. I recently finished reading Reductionism in Art and Brain Science – Bridging the Two Cultures by the 2000 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine, Eric Kandel. The book is a superb short easy read on the emergence of abstract art in the 20th century and its connection with the field of psychology, a relatively recent scientific development. Kandel writes“…The brain specializes in extracting meaningful patterns from the input it receives, even when that input is extremely noisy. This psychological phenomenon is referred to as pareidolia, in which a vague, random stimulus is perceived as significant.”This is not a recent observation. In 15th Century, Leonardo Da Vinci wrote of this capability in his notebooks::…If you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills. You will also be able to see diverse combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces, and outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well-conceived forms….”Kandel's writing has given me a way of explaining my creative process and why it evokes such a hugely diverse range of perceptions from my viewers. Perception creates pareidolia in the viewer by asking the profound question: “How do you impose order on randomness?" First Offer: Exclusive Pre-Market Release for Art Journal Subscribers Only of A Painting From the East.Email for Price and Transport Details
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The Enter Art Foundation’s “42 Contemporary Artists” Exhibition, Berlin Art Week 2018
A selection of shots from the Enter Art Foundation exhibition “42 Contemporary Artists”, a vital part of the Berlin Art Week. The Enter Art Foundation is a unique Berlin based not for profit visual art organisation founded with the express purpose of curating exhibitions designed to introduce the work of emerging artists to European audiences. As Gunter Sachs said “ even with technology, emerging artists are still the hardest to find and are almost invisible to the public”. Head Curator, Dr Suzy Royal’s role is to select between 30 to 40 artists from the hundreds of submissions she receives and to curate those works into a reflection of the Enter Art Foundation manifesto. The works of the selected artists are actively promoted by EAF in a series of exhibitions that so far in 2018 have included Stockholm Art Week and Bonn. I am honoured to have been selected as one of the emerging artists and to have had my artwork featured in the marketing promotion for the exhibition and the Berlin Art Week 2018, a whole of city celebration.
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An Industrial Art Commission - The Challenge for the Cartography of Flow - Red
One of the real joys of my work is co-creating with clients. Khalil Najjar is Managing Director and Owner of Optim Logistics, Australia’s largest film equipment and concert entertainment freight forwarder. A move into a new head office sparked Khalil’s creative juices that saw a full scale shipping container being converted into the main meeting room and boardroom. Khalil needed some art to complement his logo design based around the Japanese concept of “enso”, a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. A chance trip into the Intercontinental Hotel Gallery, Sydney resulted in Khalil spending time viewing my database of images before settling on the Cartography of Flow – Red as the image he felt best complemented his logo. “Now I challenge you, Ralph. Can you turn that artwork into 4.2 metre triptych?”. View the film to see the surprising result!!
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