Fantastic Forms

Fantastic Forms is a vibrant, abundant and joyful exhibition that celebrates the creativity of the human imagination, inviting three contemporary artists to respond to Merric Boyd’s work in the Bundanon Collection.

Featuring

Considered Australia’s first studio potter, Merric Boyd began working with clay in 1910 when the medium was not widely used. Alongside pottery, drawing formed the backbone of his practice from an early age. Boyd’s creative philosophy shaped the lives of his five children, Lucy, Arthur, Guy, David and Mary, all of whom became artists in their own rights.

Nabilah Nordin is a Singaporean/Australian sculptor whose practice ‘unlearns’ correct methods and techniques to maintain a state of conscious naïveté. Interested in material invention, her installations embrace wonky craftwork, playfully celebrating the visceral and anthropomorphic qualities of materials in concert with community engaged performative practices.

In his paintings, ceramics and bronzes, Stephen Benwell both references and challenges classical forms, presenting fragments of full statues, suggestive of archaeological finds, alongside busts and statues of the male nude. Benwell’s distinct style continues his contemporary perspective on traditions of beauty, and other art-historical influences.

Rubyrose Bancroft is an emerging Bundjalung artist based in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Bancroft is a trained ceramist who began experimenting with plasticine claymation at home during lockdown. Her work in Fantastic Forms uses humour and escapism whilst exploring biblical and cosmic themes.