Locust Jones
Curation as a form of drawing research gathers quietly, taking shape through the cross-conversation of artists, works, writing and thought. Testing the bounds of drawing, this practice proceeds iteratively, allowing meaning and knowledge to form gradually over time — still provisional, still forming.
Locust Jones / MAGIC SAUCE
1 June – 2 July, 2023 — DRAW Space gallery
Curator — Belinda Yee
I approached Locust Jones for the inaugural exhibition at DRAW Space, a new centre for contemporary drawing on Gadigal Land (Newtown, Sydney). I wanted to work with Jones because he is a well known drawer and his practice centres on real-time, improvised and performative mark making. Having seen earlier performances by Jones I also wanted to invite him to create a new work in the gallery space.
Curatorially, Jones and I agreed to start the show with an empty gallery as this was our first exhibition and we wanted to evoke the idea of the white page. However, you have to be flexible, and when Jones showed me an earlier performance drawing made for the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) it was obvious we should show it. Although this meant a change in direction, it was a privilege to show this earlier work as it had not been seen since it was made 5 years earlier.
On opening night, Jones collaborated with drummer Tim Bruniges in a three hour endurance drawing and drumming performance interspersed with Jones screaming into a microphone or reading lists of words from his notebooks. The opening night drawing remained for the duration of the exhibition and was visible 24/7 through the gallery's glass façade on busy Enmore Road. A recording of the Bruniges' drumming performance was played while the gallery was open.
The AGNSW work, a large 8m x 6m (approx) T-shaped drawing which extended from the front of the gallery to the rear, was positioned high on the left-side wall and trailed onto the floor. The new work which was just as long at 9m x 1.5m, was positioned lower on the opposite wall roughly at Jones' height. The drawing implements, graphite fragments and notebooks from the opening night performance were left on the floor, extending the new work into the space and mirroring the work opposite. The juxtaposition of a high work on the left and a lower work on the right created a dynamic space and made for an engaging experience.
The performance MAGIC SAUCE between Locust Jones and Tim Bruniges, is the first in a series of events planned for 2023 and 2024, which invite the viewer to consider the relationship of drawing to music. More broadly, I think of these as an ongoing stream of research into the intersection of drawing and sound.
For more information see — DRAW Space
Opening night at DRAW Space featuring performance by Locust Jones & Tim Bruniges, 1 June, 2023.