VIEWING ROOM

ANNA HARRISON & MATTHEW GRAEME JOHNSON
'STILLNESS IS A FICTION’

Jerico Contemporary is delighted to present our first exhibition of 2021 and debut collaborative show between Australian artists Anna Harrison and Matthew Graeme Johnson, ‘Stillness Is A Fiction’. The exhibition will open on Thursday 14th January and continue through to Saturday 30th of January 2021.

Throughout art history, artist collaborations have delivered iconic exhibitions and works of art. When two artists partner together, a common thread is woven between their practices, establishing a connection that otherwise may not have been realised. ‘Stillness Is A Fiction’ is a collaboration that considers the relationship between Harrison’s evocative poetry and Johnson’s photographic calligraphies made by sun and sea. Uncovering the ever-present sensorial connections, the show is an ode to the ocean in all its forms. The artists worked in symbiosis to produce all of the works featured in the exhibition that traverse the universal language that occurs between humans and nature.

"He’s [Johnson] figured out how to capture the fleeting signature of light on water, quite literally, in a way that’s aesthetically compelling - that concept really struck a match in my imagination as a writer"

— ANNA HARRISON

The exhibition offers four works from each artist created in close collaboration. Bringing together the written word and calligraphy from the ocean’s surface, Harrison and Johnson have produced poetic nuances that evoke the feeling of existing on the edge of an ever-changing tide. Blue pulses across the page and words speak of them, embossed in paper. Initially Harrison was drawn to Johnson's work on a purely aesthetic level and then more deeply once she learned of the unique process behind his images. "He’s figured out how to capture the fleeting signature of light on water, quite literally, in a way that’s aesthetically compelling - that concept really struck a match in my imagination as a writer," explains Harrison.

“Harrison has a beautiful way of saying a lot, with not a lot of words”

— MATTHEW GRAEME JOHNSON

Translating Johnson’s images into language allowed me to interpret what the sea might have been saying in those ephemeral moments that a tiny portion of it was immortalised. "Matt [Johnson] and I spoke about a few loose themes and ideas, but he really allowed me the freedom to interpret what he gave me in a very intuitive way.” Where Harrison translated, Johnson reflected on her interpretations to select and title his work. The title of one of the major works in the exhibition, ‘With Altitude’ was taken directly from a line in Harrisons’ work ‘Vantage’, ‘with altitude, submerged realities lift from the unseen'. “Harrison has a beautiful way of saying a lot, with not a lot of words,” notes Johnson. “This concise line is such an apt summation of my long description of the process behind the work and what it means to me.”

'Stillness is a Fiction’ brings together the work of two Australian artists who share a curiosity of not only nature, but the sea. Speaking to the lyrical notion of each practice, wordplay encompasses not only the essence of the water, but the feeling of being subsumed by the ocean’s mass. What unravels within this connection is a series of frequencies that resonate on multiple levels. Sound waves, the melody of a sentence, these are the instances in which sound and colour bleed into one another. A visual language is realised and is reflected on paper in two instances; one that can be both seen and heard.

IN THE STUDIO:

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES:

Matthew Graeme Johnson (b.1985) is an artist from Sydney, Australia. His solo exhibitions include ‘Unseen Realities’, Jerico Contemporary Online, 2020 and ‘Continuum’ at Jerico Contemporary, 2019. The artist currently lives and works in Far North NSW.