Opening Launch: Wednesday 13 March 6-8pm | Exhibition Dates: March 13 - March 30, 2024



Dan Withey

Nature Bridge

"Nature Bridge" by Dan Withey delves into the intricate interactions between humans and intelligent avian species, challenging notions of human supremacy and emphasizing mutual communication across species boundaries. The exhibition serves as a poignant reflection on humanity's disconnect from nature, highlighting our tendency to construct laws and views based solely on human perspectives, often neglecting the profound impact on the world around us. Through introspective exploration, viewers are invited to reconsider their place within the natural world, acknowledging the damaging consequences of our actions on other beings and ecosystems. By abandoning notions of human supremacy, "Nature Bridge" fosters empathy and encourages viewers to become active participants in the interconnected web of relationships that define our existence.



Benjamin Uno

Shingyo sketchbook 2000-2024: studies, bootlegs and remixes towards a complete s11 Heart Sutra

Shingyo sketchbook 2000-2024: studies, bootlegs and remixes towards a complete s11 Heart Sutra

This exhibition is a survey of more than 20 years work on the Heart Sutra series, which was born of my direct experiences with police and state power at the s11 Protests at Crown Casino, Melbourne in September 2000.

From crowd photographs taken across the three days of protest, individual faces of people directly or indirectly involved were chosen at random to represent each of the characters (ideograms) of the Buddhist text known as Hannya Shingyo, the ‘Heart Sutra’.

In other words, instead of 274 characters, my version of the Heart Sutra has 274 faces.

Although I have previously created both photographic and calligraphic versions of the sutra, last year was the first time I had completed a hand-drawn/painted/written suite of all 274 portraits. The work, entitled 守り Protection, will be exhibited later this year. A commemorative book is also being published and will be available at that time.

This exhibition at Rubicon ARI is my third working with this ‘trans-substantiated’ text. It includes studies for 守り Protection, related works not included in previous shows, and earlier works from my archive showing the origins of my approach to image construction and meaning.



Kat Vonic

Otherworld

Otherworld is a series of abstract images with organic details that mimic the natural world. The gallery acts as a liminal space offering glimpses into otherworldly landscapes, inviting viewers to consider themes of fantasy and unreality as a way of interacting and coping with the real.

The work is influenced by cosmic, ‘New Weird’ fiction and its capacity to explore our connection to the natural world and anxieties around massive events such as climate change and species extinction, with narratives often rejecting a nature-human divide and moving toward a less human-centric worldview.

Kat is an emerging artist based in Naarm/Melbourne, working with alternative photographic processes to reimagine the landscape. They completed their Bachelor of Creative Arts (Photography) in 2023.