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Date published: 4/11/2013
In April, the Fremantle Arts Centre will launch an exciting exhibition of ten life-size, figurative sculptures by Perth artist, Peter Dailey. The works are the result of an unprecedented Western Australian philanthropic collaboration called The Syndicate, which gives significant support to a single artist to develop a body of work.
Dailey is the second artist to be commissioned by The Syndicate and has produced an outstanding collection of visually engaging and thought-provoking sculptures, collectively titled, Apparition: The Syndicate II.
Dailey is a well-respected artist and arts educator who has been producing significant artwork in WA for over two decades, much of which is held by major public and private collections throughout the State. His work has a strong sense of narrative and contemporary mythology, forged in a theatrical aesthetic reminiscent of stage sets, which is simultaneously technically sophisticated and highly detailed.
Dailey’s mythologies are drawn from the notion of an internal structure connecting the nature of all things and whether such a concept can be understood through scientific processes alone. Consequently, his sculptures embody a multidisciplinary conceptual approach that draws roughly on science, politics, art history, intuition, alchemy, semiotics and many other analytical methodologies.
The ten sculptures produced for Apparition are divided into two categories both in terms of materials and concept. Five works encased in cast Perspex reference the internal machinations of what it is to be human, such as biology or psychology, while the remainder deal with external forces, such as politics. Throughout the collection is a reference to our reliance on the natural world, whether direct or circuitous. Altogether, the works visualise a dark, yet beautiful and rich conception of humanity.
The Syndicate leader and noted WA art collector Lloyd Horn, said Dailey was an ideal choice of artist for this project.
“We have followed Peter’s career and know his work well,” Horn said.
“We consider him to be an important mid-career artist who deserved the opportunity to have the artistic and financial freedom to explore.”
Patrons and philanthropists often contribute most significantly to the advancement of visual and artistic culture, due to the self-determination their support affords artistic production. The Syndicate project is an outstanding model of the benefit of such philanthropic endeavours.
Apparition: The Syndicate II is showing at Fremantle Arts Centre from 13 April to 2 June, 2013.
Peter Dailey, Alchemist, 2013. Photo: Eva Fernandez
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