IB VISUAL ARTS 2025

LACHLAN

Curatorial Rationale

The artworks in this exhibition were chosen for their shared exploration of the individual through the lens of a transactive experience. Each represents an aspect of the artist’s psyche and together they create a personal picture of the artist.

The placement of Scroll emphasises its length, coming from far above the other works and extending far below them, with its paper base coiled around itself. The subject matter of the ‘posts’ portrayed in the piece devolve as they get closer to the phone, depicting violence and vanity at the extreme. Viewers recognise the transaction of time.

Two other wall mounted works Inside and Pieces are placed on either side as they explore similar ideas of internal and external presentations of the self, giving the exhibition a sense of balance. The physical depth of Inside created by the plaster silhouette emphasises the painted central figure, whose portrayal is suggested as imperfect but expressive, with a much warmer and more saturated palette. The patterns surrounding the central hand in Pieces carries a similar emphasis on the central figure, in orbits around it as though attracted.

The two sculptures To Calmer Waters and Pay-to-Play are placed underneath Inside and the three form the most personal section of the exhibition, tied heavily to the artist’s own experiences which have shaped their identity and the ongoing transactions that form it. The empty pharmaceutical packaging in Calmer Waters and the transaction of coins for thought, education or intellectual property in Pay-to-Play impart expressions of lived experience, constructed from real parts of their life.

Many of the artworks include visual elements that are slowly revealed to the viewer as they inspect them closer, such as the piles of medication present under the surface of To Calmer Waters or the overwhelming length of Scroll which require close observation to fully experience. These elements aim to represent the nuance of identity and the difficulty inherent in looking at someone else’s.

The works vary in size, shape and medium, which ties well to their subject matter, showcasing individualism and a range of parts making up a greater whole. Due to the spacing, the viewer in unable to take in every artwork at once and must therefore direct their focus around the exhibition space, encouraging them to think more deeply about each individual work, giving of themselves and taking what they can, slowly building connections as they pass between the works.