“Doing painting for half my degree, I missed the induction courses of all the sculptural techniques. And so I just decided I was going to use techniques out in the world. I was going to use gravity… steam rollers… I think when you carve a piece of stone, it’s thousands of small, violent acts to make a smooth sculpture.” — Cornelia Parker
The great British artist Cornelia Parker (b. 1956, Cheshire, England) is currently featured in a major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia – the first for the artist in the Southern Hemisphere. Cornelia Parker closes February 16, 2020.
From the MCA:
One of the most important women artists working today, Cornelia Parker OBE is known for her transformation of everyday objects into unexpected, haunting scenarios. In the artist’s hands domestic and familiar items are exploded, shot, turned back to front, and rearranged in often surprising ways. Working with sculpture and installation, as well as drawing, photography, and film, Parker positions her subjects at the very moment of their transformation, suspended in time and completely still.
Cornelia Parker is the first major survey exhibition of the artist’s work in the Southern Hemisphere. This Sydney-exclusive exhibition will feature over 40 artworks from across the artist’s career, including large-scale installations, embroideries, works on paper, video works, and a selection of small-scale sculptures and objects.
If you can’t make it to Sydney to catch the show, fortunately, the MCA produced this video interview and exhibition walk-through with Parker and Rachel Kent, Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia.