Julie Davies
Australia

Katrin von Maltzahn's work deals with the basic tools of 'communication' and 'understanding'. For h. she will exhibit a continum of the photo-based work, 'searching for a perfect language' (public domain version), developed during her fellowship at the Nordic Institute For Contemporary Art in Helsinki, 1997. von Maltzahn created from clay the characters that comprise the ASCII code. For Intelligent machine (public domain version) she restages the work with her hands holding a void where the letters were, a language on their own, a personal alphabet. Further information about the artist is available on her home page: http://www.katrinvm.de

Julie Davies continues the question of language by presenting a work dealing with silence 'the absence of mention'. Her concern with investigating the arbitrary automatism of gestures shifts focus in this exhibition to a recording of personal habits. The project is a photographic documentation of spontaneous gestures which evolve into habits, the work forms a parallel investigation between silence and the seizure and freezing of presence.

Mitsuko Miwa presents part two of a five part project began in Hamburg in 1998. Using material derived from American Western Movies and her travels accompanied by sterotypical cut out figures of 'Cowboys & Indians' she explores the dichotomy of Hero/Outlaw. After Melbourne the work will move to Japan, Paris and conclude in Stockholm.

Mitsuko Miwa, Mexico City,
Installation detail,
fabric & dye, 400 x 300 cm,
1996

Julie Davies, Pedestrian,
installation detail, 1997

Karin von Maltzhan, English
for you, silkscreen and
video, 1995