Summer Studio: Radiant Void
Elena Tory-Henderson, Siena White
13–29 Jan 2022
Lilac City Studios will be hosted in residence at Blindside for the inaugural exchange between the two spaces. Lilac City Studio is a Sydney based artists run initiative established in 2015.
This exchange hopes to contribute to a cross-pollination between the two ARIs, their respective cities, their artists, communities, and dialogues. It will consist of two parts:
Part 1, Forging Paths of Exchange, is an opportunity to learn, observe and absorb the culture and community around Blindside and its position within the wider arts community of Naarm/Melbourne, through studio visits, meetings with artists and other ARI workers.
Part 2, Radiant Void, will be the concluding exhibition of the residency, and will present artists from Gadigal/Sydney and Narm/Melbourne. The themes underpinning this show are a reflection on Lilac City’s personal journey as artists & ARI workers, and hopes to celebrate and comically reflect on the ongoing vulnerabilities and uncertainties, looking at the role of affirmations as a comfort in times of transition and doubt - a feeling of an authority outside ourselves, anonymity, parental comfort.
Please register your attendance at the closing event on Saturday 29 January 4-6pm. via this link.
The Blindside Summer Studio Residency Program provides a unique platform for the examination of practice and work within a combined studio and exhibition context.
During this residency, Lilac City Studios, a Sydney based artists run initiative established in 2015, will be hosted at Blindside for the inaugural exchange between the two spaces.
This program takes place on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded - this land is stolen land. We pay respects to Wurundjeri Elders, past, present and emerging, to the Elders from other communities and to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders who might encounter or participate in the program.
Elena Tory-Henderson is a person based on Gadigal land (Sydney) whose artistic practice has primarily explored the interplay between the material & immaterial in the gallery space, often through something akin to drawing/painting/ spacial installation. Elena has exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout Sydney, as well as at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art. In 2014 Elena completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (honours) in Painting and was awarded the Austrian Arlbeg 1800 residency. Her first curatorial project BODY/BLOOD was exhibited at Visual Bulk Gallery in Hobart in 2018. Since 2016 she has worked at Lilac City Studio assisting with the organisation and curation of exhibitions/events. In 2020 Elena completed a Bachelor of Design in Architecture at the University of Sydney and now works in the architectural field.
Siena White is a studio-based artist with a foundation in sculpture and traditional drawing, in which she includes installation and video. Her practice is primarily focused perceptions of self in changing contexts and environments. Siena has exhibited at ARI’s in Sydney and intestate for both solo and group exhibitions. In 2014, she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (honours) in Sculpture, and was awarded the Art Gallery of NSW’s Robert Le Gay Brereton Award from Drawing. Previously she was the recipient of the Coutts Award for Excellency in Drawing (2013), and the Jocelyn Maughan Sketchbook Prize (2012). Founder and Director of Lilac City Studio, Siena has facilitated, assisted and curated exhibitions since 2015. In 2018 she curated Currency, which included established international artists Ann Hirsch, Signe Pierce and Ali Coates, as well as Australian established artists Marian Tubbs and JD Reforma. Siena is a Sessional Lecturer in Drawing at the National Art School and completing her Masters in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts at the University of Sydney. She is currently undertaking a studio residency at Government House, Sydney.