Psychomanteum is the shared exhibition space between Nicole Polentas and Christopher Earl Milbourne, where the two artists explore, through sculpture and jewellery, the qualities of gold, silver and other materials.
The exhibition space has been designed to resemble the psychomanteum; the naturally occurring rockpools where the Oracle would be consulted in Ancient Greece. Using concrete, water and light to create the space, the artists have used the ambient gallery to contemplate past, present and future through their work.
Nicole Polentas’ studies in gold and silversmithing and her Greek cultural heritage have influenced her style. In her jewellery, she combines the use of personal photographs and excerpts from rizitika songs (traditional music from Crete) to explore how historical legacies relate to one’s ideas of place and belonging.
These songs represent the connection between the objects and the artist’s heritage, the stirring composition of rizitika performed by Antonis Martsakis flowing through the gallery space.
Creating with sterling silver and gold alloys, Christopher Earl Milbourne constructs miniature landscapes that associate with traditional craft and avant-garde sculpture. In this exhibition, Milbourne takes as his subject the historical portrayal of industry – factories, civic buildings, gas stations and grain silos. His weathered and whimsical objects consider the ‘aesthetics of ruin’, where abandoned structures in the landscape mark the rise and fall of power over time.
Psychomanteum is on now at the Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, VIC through to 6 November 2011.
