Material Directives, 2020-2021
UAP & Gladstone Rd Studios, Brisbane
Photos + Video By Anwyn Howarth and Charlie Hillhouse
Introduction - Jenna Green (Project Producer)
Over the past 6 months, artists Jordan Azcune and Kirralee Robinson have been collaborating with local design studio, Five Mile Radius on new material experiments. Through and exchange of practice and knowledge, the artists and Five Mile Radius have explored the environmental impact of their work and proposed new lines of enquiry into material and process that have informed the direction of their experiments. Developed through conversations, collaborative making and play, this exhibition shares the exploration and results of this productive and creative exchange.
This project was made possible through the Creative Sparks Fund. The Creative Sparks Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council to support local arts and culture in Brisbane.
Reflections - Jenna Green
It has been a joy to spend time with Kirralee, Jordan and the Five Mile Radius team the past 6 months. All three were friends of mine prior to this project, but connecting them to each other and listening to their conversations has been a true delight.
Coming from a background of design and visual art, I’ve always found it interesting to observe how creativity and functionality mingle in the work of practitioners from these two disciplines. There are always decisions to be made and it’s fascinating to see how a framework of thinking, for instance, an architectural or arts education and practice, informs the choices each practitioner makes and the work they produce.
For me, Material Directives has come to be a collection of objects that lays out some of the choices these practitioners make around materials, material processes, time, the environment and history, amongst many others. It is an assemblage of ideas and hopefully the seeds of projects to come. Through conversations with Clare (Founder and creative director of Five Mile Radius), Kirralee and Jordan, I have witnessed how their different frames of reference and approaches to practice have set new lines of inquiry for each practitioner.
To Kirralee, Jordan and all the Five Mile Radius team, thank you. Thank you for the time, perspective, materials, processes and boundless other knowledge you contributed to this project. Here’s to continuing these conversations far into the future.