Exhibits,

Aishla Manning and Sarah Poulgrain Cardboard Constructions

Opening: Wednesday 30 November, 6-8pm Dates: 30 November - 23 December 2016

‘Cardboard Constructions’ is a collaborative exhibition from Aishla Manning and Sarah Poulgrain.

We chose to work together because of a shared affinity for DIY construction, accessible materials and YouTube tutorials. Works for this exhibition have been made through a process of teaching each other new ways of using materials. Constructions are built with cardboard, tape, kitchen utensils and fabric. Videos are filmed in each other’s houses. We would like to better understand our affinity for DIY construction, in lieu of an ironic appropriation or parody of YouTube tutorials. More broadly, our practices are motivated by an estrangement from qualities associated with dominant forms of ‘professionalism’. Rather than a display of competence, our experience of professionalism relates more to an absence of personal and idiosyncratic qualities. This has led us to look at what is considered ‘un-professional’, specifically approaching the term ‘pathetic’ as a non-pejorative and endearing quality. 

Both Aishla and Sarah graduated from Queensland College of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) in 2015. Sarah primarily works with clay, fabric and video installation. She has exhibited in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. She was a finalist in the 2016 John Fries Award and highly commended in the 2014 Churchie National Emerging Art Prize. Aishla works predominantly with video and assembled objects and is the co-founder of the Laundry Artspace (Brisbane). She has exhibited extensively in Queensland, with an upcoming screening at The Institute of Modern Art’s Green Screen.

Photography by Christo Crocker.