Project Curators
Mollie Hewitt and Andrew Nicholls, for FORM
Participating artists
Thea Costantino
Rebecca Dagnall
Tarryn Gill
Image: Golden Eagle by Tarryn Gill, 2016. Photograph c/o the artist.
Co-curated with Mollie Hewitt for FORM.
Western Australia’s gold mining past provided the inspiration for Bedazzle – Photographing Western Australia’s Gold Towns, a compelling and darkly humorous exploration of the regional gothic. Bedazzle features new work by leading Western Australian artists, Thea Costantino, Rebecca Dagnall, and Tarryn Gill, developed through residencies in Western Australia's Pilbara and Goldfields-Esperance regions during 2015 and 2016.
Costantino, Dagnall, and Gill use the photographic medium to explore and critique Australian nationalism and post-colonial history. For this exhibition the artists have woven a series of darkly humorous narratives around the notion of a culture obsessed with wealth from the ground. They worked in Western Australia’s hottest town, Marble Bar, the iconic gold town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the eerie ghost town of Gwalia, and the mining communities of Kambalda, Menzies, and Coolgardie.
Image: Bobby Dazzler by Tarryn Gill, 2016. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
The Bedazzle artists, (l to r) Tarryn Gill, Thea Costantino and Rebecca Dagnall with Tarryn Gill's 'Golden Eagle', 2016. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
The Pub by Rebecca Dagnall, 2016. Photograph c/o the artist.
Bedazzle audience member viewing 'The Bride' and 'Cabbage Wife' by Thea Costantino, 2015. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
Bedazzle, partial view of installation at FORM Gallery, with works by Rebecca Dagnall, Tarryn Gill and Thea Costantino, 2016. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
The Gorge by Rebecca Dagnall, 2015. Photograph c/o the artist.
Bedazzle, partial view of installation at FORM Gallery, with works by Rebecca Dagnall and Thea Costantino, 2016. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
Revenge Joey by Rebecca Dagnall, 2015. Photograph c/o the artist.
Home Coming by Thea Costantino, 2016. Photograph c/o the artist.
Pilbara Guide by Tarryn Gill, 2015.
Angel Cow by Rebecca Dagnall, 2015. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
Angel Cow by Rebecca Dagnall, 2015. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
Daughters of Midas, installation by Thea Costantino, 2016. Photograph by Bewley Shaylor, c/o FORM.
Image: Rebecca Dagnall, Thea Costantino, Tarryn Gill, Andrew Nicholls and Mollie Hewitt outside Marble Bar, 2015. Photograph by Greg Taylor, c/o FORM.
The project team nearby Comet Gold Mine, outside Marble Bar, 2015. Photograph by Andrew Nicholls, c/o FORM.
The artists photographing at the Flying Fox Lookout outside of Marble Bar, 2015. Photograph by Andrew Nicholls, c/o FORM.