melanie fitzmaurice

Melanie FITZMAURICE

Represented by

CATHERINE ASQUITH GALLERY

Melanie FITZMAURICEMelanie Fitzmaurice is an Australian Artist living and working in rural Victoria, Australia. Melanie completed her Bachelor of Arts (Visual) with Honours, majoring in Sculpture at the Australian National University, School of Art, Canberra, in 2007. As a recipient of travel scholarships awarded by The Royal Over-Seas League, London, The Freedman Foundation, Sydney and Saksala Art Radius, Haukivuori, Fitzmaurice has partaken in residencies based in regional Scotland (2008) and Finland (2011).

In September 2011 Melanie was represented at the Korea International Art Fair (KIAF/11) in Seoul, South Korea. In 2012 Melanie was invited to participate in the The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarhsip 2012; was a Finalist in the The Sunshine Coast 3D Art Prize 2012 (QLD, Australia), The Substation Contemporary Art Prize 2012 (Vic, Australia) and The Blake Prize Director’s Cut Exhibition 2012 (NSW, Australia).

Melanie Fitzmaurice

ART STAGE SINGAPORE 2013

Artist Statement I map my understanding of places, objects and experiences through sculpture. My artworks grow from a process of problem solving, whereby I apply a new logic to familiar objects. I draw on what I recognise and understand in an attempt to grasp what is new or challenging.

My sculptures take the form of unlikely combinations of domestic or utilitarian objects and fragments of the human body. In adjusting these familiar forms, I work to construct metaphors that highlight the connections that I see between geographical expeditions and a more internalised experience of navigation. Comparisons between the domestic interior and the outdoors began to emerge in my making during my first international residency in Arbroath, a small fishing town on the east coast of Scotland (2008). As a traveller I continue to reflect on the concept of locating oneself in transit; of moving forward and looking back. I consider themes such as orientation, disorientation, the familiar and the unknown.

Artist Statement cont’d

As a sculptor I am fascinated by the fundamental role that our bodies play in our understanding of space, movement, communication and identity. The human body appears throughout my work, or is referred to through objects, garments and helmets. Many of the works comprising Head Above Water are based on the helmet’s potential to represent ‘mind space’. During a recent residency in regional Finland (2011) I became interested in the layers of soil, snow, ice and water that form the winter landscape. Throughout my stay, I observed the accumulation, movement and dissipation of the organic environment around me. I came to find that these layers had the capacity to mimic, exaggerate, conceal and reveal the objects that lay beneath. This observation is the underpinning influence of my most recent sculptures, as I work to translate these layers into a geography of the psyche. Collectively, these sculptures traverse a multi-layered landscape, spanning the height of the sky to the depth of the ocean; documenting a psychological journey through atmosphere, horizon, sea level and beyond.

Nightmare Landing, 2011 - 2012 Upholstery wadding, foam, fabrics, fibreglass, aluminium (interior structure: cable, poly pipe & fittings)250 x 150 x 105cm approx.AUD$18,000

Nightmare Landing, 2011 - 2012 (detail)

Hemisphere Helmet, 2011-2012Painted fibreglass, fleece, adding140 x 45 x 25cmAUD$10,000

Hemisphere Helmet, 2011-2012 (detail)

Tip of the Iceberg (Helmet), 2012Fibreglass, tracksuit fleece, ribbing, rope, wadding55 x 100 x 100cm (variable)AUD$9000

Explorer’s Twin Hooks, 2010Tracksuit fleece, beads, wood, pipe, rope, foam, fishing line, metal clasps30 x 30 x 60cm (each hook, rope variable)AUD$4000

Explorer’s Twin Hooks, 2010 (detail)

Drifting Caps, 2012fibreglass, tracksuit fleece, wadding50 x 70 x 25cmAUD$5500

Out of Depth, 2012Fibreglass, tracksuit fleece, roe, lead, cord, acrylic beads, steel bracket170 x 50 x 42cmAUD$4000

Melanie FITZMAURICESelected works from:

Head Above Water, 2012The Explorer, 2010

Tip of the Iceberg (Helmet), 2012Tracksuit fleece, wadding, fibreglass, rope, wood, steel buckle170 x 32 x 25 cmSOLD Acquired by Artbank

Tip of the Iceberg (Helmet), 2012 (detail)

Head Above Water, 2012Fibreglass, rope, tracksuit fleece170 x 40 x 40cmAUD$6200

Head Above Water, 2012 (detail)

Heart Afloat, 2012Fibreglass, tracksuit fleece, cord, rope45 x 16 x 16cmSOLD

Nightmare Sleepwalker, 2012Fibreglass, tracksuit fleece, wadding180 x 70 x 25cmAUD$3600

Nightmare Sleepwalker, 2012 (detail)

Head Above Water, exhibition installationCatherine Asquith Gallery, Collingwood, Melbourne, 2012“Hemisphere Helmet” to right of image.“Tip of the Iceberg (Backpack)” at front of image.

Head Above Water, exhibition installationCatherine Asquith Gallery, Collingwood, Melbourne, 2012“Head Above Water”, front“Tip of the Icerberg”, back, centre“Drifting Caps”, left

Explorer’s Hook, 2009

Tracksuit fleece & ribbing, beads, wood, pipe, steel, card, rope240 x 150 x 150cmSOLD

Explorer’s Hook, 2009 (detail)

Explorer’s Pack, 2009Tracksuit fleece & ribbing, rope, wood, pipe & wire60 x 80 x 600cmAUD$3800

Explorer’s Pack, 2009 (detail)

Explorer’s Pillow, 2009Tracksuit fleece & ribbing, rope, wood, pipe & wire30 x 50 x 150cmAUD$2500

Explorer’s Pillow, 2009 (detail)

Explorer’s Case, 2010Tracksuit fleece, fibreglass, wood, ribbing72 x 80 x 70cmAUD$3300

Explorer’s Focus, 2010Tracksuit fleece, ribbing, fibreglass, pipe9 x 40 x 40cmSOLD

Explorer’s Trail, 2010Tracksuit fleece, fibreglass, ribbing, wood, rope28 x 50 x 240cmSOLD

Navigation Helmet, 2010tracksuit fleece, ribbing, foam, wood, fibreglass28 x 30 x 50cmAUD$2100

Explorer’s Helmet, 2009Fibreglass, tracksuit fleece & ribbing, cotton, wood & plastic25 x 35 x 70cmAUD$2100

Explorer’s Torch, 2011Tracksuit fleece, beads, PVC, pipe, wood, fibreglass12 x 47 x 15cmSOLD

The Explorer, exhibition installationCatherine Asquith Gallery, Collingwood, Melbourne.

The Explorer, exhibition installationCatherine Asquith Gallery, Collingwood, Melbourne