Sue-Ching Lascelles

a love letter...

2012-01-02T04:31:00.000-08:00

If a love letter were a drawing, it would be of Reykjavik. X

LOVE LOVE XMAS

2012-01-02T04:13:00.000-08:00

A very spontaneous and impromptu idea led to this little diorama that I made for the Love Love end of year show. The title of the work was taken from René Daumal's novel Mount Analogue. Sometimes I dream in neon, and sometimes my dreams and reality find a way to cross paths.

Another Black & Spiro Christmas!!

2012-01-02T04:02:00.000-08:00

This year I was again fortunate enough to work with the ever inspiring Anna Spiro of Black & Spiro. She does the most visionary and spectacular Christmas windows and this year's windows did not disappoint! To coincide with the opening of the wonderfully talented artist Pip Boydell's debut exhibition and to launch the Black & Spiro Christmas windows, I created one very large and colouful chandelier to hang in the store above one very large and lovely table. The shop looked amazing and the one thing that has really stayed with me from the opening night was the beautiful waft of flowers and candles, it was bursting with Spring! I have to say, Anna really does have a magical way of bringing out the best in me! Thank you xx

Everything's coming up Noses!

2011-08-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

I love window spaces. I think part of what I love most about them is the fact that my work is so tactile, yet the glass barricades the viewer away from being able to touch it. The irony. The yearning.

For this show, I made a little over 200 felt noses. When I got the initial flyer, no one could really recognise what they were and what I enjoyed about that was the realisation that without the context of the eyes and the mouth... what is a nose? An unidentifiable lump.

The premise and title of this show is Smell You Later. That silly childhood phrase. Only in this case, you will be overwhelmingly smelt 200 or more times. Oh silliness.

Thanks to the curatorial powerhouse- Marie from Window99 and her boyfriend Leo, he makes a lovely cup of tea. If you're traveling down Brunswick St in Fitzroy, take a look. It will be up until the 3rd September.

POPCRAFT

2011-08-22T00:25:00.000-07:00

Images Courtesy of Pauline Tran

What a SUPER FUN week I had in Melbourne! Two shows, lots of tasty snacks and a billion things to see and do. One of the highlights was definitely meeting the extremely talented and industrious ladies from PopCraft. The studios, shop and workshop spaces were so inspiring. It would be so great if we had access to these kinds of resources in Brisbane. I mean... Brisbane is wonderful, it's just that PopCraft was extra wonderful!

This event coincided with Craft Victoria's Craft Cubed events. It's a soft sculptural banquet curated by Pauline and featuring two other very talented artists (check out the cute knitted hot dog and hamburger! Happiness). It's on til the end of the month, so if you find yourself in East Brunswick check it out. There's also a lots of other lovely things around Brunswick too. Hearts.

Domino's in my POCKET

2011-08-22T00:08:00.000-07:00

Image Courtesy of Amy Smith

WHAT?! You want a giant pocket!!! Ok.
Recently Domino's Pizza launched a new app that puts the pizza ordering process right into you pocket. And to launch this app they commissioned me to make this giant denim pocket for the entrance to the launch party. I love these fun jobs. Thanks Amy Smith PR extraordinaire.

Soba Noodle Salad!!! at SLQ

2011-04-29T01:50:00.001-07:00

It would be an understatement to say I was thrilled to be working on another project for the State Library of Brisbane And better yet... it involved over-sized food... for children. Two of my favourite things thrown into one big pot of recipe excitement!!!

This work is for 'The Corner'- an interactive childrens' area at the library and is on now for playtime funtime. It is part of the Brisbane Ideas festival and teaches children how to make their very own soba noodle salad. There are a couple of other items I didn't manage to photograph (a big spoon, and of course the noodles). If you have kids, or you're a kid at heart, wander down and take a squiz.

Nine Wives at Nine Lives

2011-04-29T01:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who turned up on opening night to see the show. It was a great turn out with loads of enthusiasm! I loved all the artists' interpretations of the domestic spaces and all of them were so unexpected. Such a great concept for an exhibition... many thanks to the ladies from tiny gold and I hear the show was such a success it will be happening again next year with brand new artists and interpretations. Something to look forward to!

2011-04-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

I am about to become a wife! Well... not of the marital kind, more of the exhibition kind. The latest group show I am participating in has a very interesting concept behind it....

Nine Wives is concept show exploring female notions of rituals and contemporary domestic environments. The term is a word play on the childhood riddle 'As I Went to St. Ives.' In it the husband originally had ‘nine’ wives, but as time went on, the riddle changed to ‘seven.’

In a similar way, domestic folklore and tradition transforms through the passing of generations, from wifely mothers to wifely daughters.

Nine female Queensland artists have been invited to create artworks that respond to one of nine rooms that make up a home. Spaces such as the dining room, nursery, kitchen and bedroom will be creatively appropriated through sculptural and installation-based works. Artists: Rebecca Ross, Carolyn V Watson, Simone Eisler, Dord Burrough, Sue-Ching Lascelles, Lucinda Wolber, Kristy Morgan, Dhana Merritt and Zoe Porter. Curated by Mariam Arcilla + Megan Cope. Opening Night: 20 April 2011, Wed, 6-9pm. Exhibition Period: 20 April-7 May 2011. Nine Lives Gallery. 5F Winn St., Fortitude Valley, QLD / wehaveninelives.com

Animation Station at SLQ

2011-02-01T02:43:00.001-08:00

I have always, always wanted to do something at the State Library. Their childrens programs are awesome and it's the library- with books and stories... need I say more? So, lucky me! At the end of last year I was commissioned by the very energetic children's program team at the State Library Queensland to design and make an interactive installation for their comprehensive school holiday program titled: Animation Station. Wowsers! Everything in this project seemed so large scale which added to the fun of it. The workshop was supposed to run for 3 weeks in January but unfortunately because of the Brisbane flood disaster it was only open for 9 days. Bless. I never did get the chance to properly photograph this work in its final set up, so the only visual joy I can bring is the photos I took on my phone during the install... you get the idea anyways.

A very Black and Spiro Christmas

2011-02-01T02:24:00.001-08:00

Images courtesy of Black and Spiro

In November I was fortunate to work with Anna Spiro of Black and Spiro. She is an amazing interior designer with a very keen eye for all things bright and beautiful (you only need to step foot in her Brunswick St shop to soak up the radiance and colour). For this project we collaborated on ideas for the Black and Spiro Christmas window. I'm so proud of how the finished work looked and the process was nothing short of inspiring! It's really cool that working on a semi commercial job actually instilled me with more ideas and passion for my art practice than working through some of my own exhibition projects and I'm really looking forward to seeing these come to fruition in 2011! (Thanks Anna.)

Ann St Party

2010-09-22T23:45:00.001-07:00

On a creative whim of late notice I was asked to create an artwork to be installed into a shopfront in the Valley as part of the Ann St party which was held in conjunction with the 2010 Valley Fiesta. Making use of my lichen work, 2 pillowcase protectors, a light and a sewing machine, this is what happened....

Dissh

2010-09-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

I was recently commisioned to make these 2 large scale paper birds for the new uber radical clothing store DISSH at Chermside, Brisbane. The concept for this store is amazing incorporating art and vintage pieces for the fit out. It's newly opened and I'm yet to pop in to check out how the birds have nested.

Two paper lover birds

2010-08-03T05:53:00.000-07:00

I made these two paper birds for a group show called Desperate Spaces, curated by Megan Cope. It was held at Artworkers PS Gallery and all money raised from sold works was donated to Artworkers. Megan made up paper party packs for each of the artists to use to create their works. I've never done any 3d work in paper before and I thought they turned out beautifully. If you look really closely you might find remnants of South Park characters in some of the feathers.

Two Needles One Yarn (String Things)

2010-07-15T00:13:00.001-07:00

A collaborative painting

Nic and I painted our own self portraits for this collaborative painting which was featured in the gallery front window.

COMING UP!!

2010-06-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

Upcoming show at Jugglers Art Space. Sue-Ching Lascelles & Nic Plowman.
July 2010

SafARI Sydney 2010

2010-06-01T03:04:00.001-07:00

Silhouette Sightseers
Exhibited at MOP projects in Sydney as part of SafARI.
What an amazing experience!
This work was an extension of the work I created for Young Brisbane Artists : We Make Shadow Puppets

Artists in Residence 2010

2010-06-01T02:32:00.000-07:00

Look Out, Look Out, There's Magpies About!
Jugglers Art Space

For this recent work exhibited at Jugglers Art Space I decided to experiment a little more with machine embroidery. I'm really loving producing wall based 2D work, and I'm quite happy with how these turned out. I was exploring a common sight in Australian Spring/Summer: Magpie Attacks. So comical when it's not happening to you. A true Schadenfreude. When I was growing up we lived across the road from a park where magpies used to breed. Some afternoons I used to just sit out there waiting for the next victim and giggle myself silly.

I have been an artist in residence at jugglers for around 4 years now and I feel so lucky to be a part of such a progressive and dynamic space. I have had lots of fantastic opportunities to interact with such a diverse range of artists and have seen the space evolve and fulfill many ambitious projects. It's just nice to be a part of something bigger than yourself, especially with such lovely and inspiring people.

Love Love Beard Show

2009-11-23T01:49:00.001-08:00

Always Trust a Cloud With a Moustache

The Love Love Beard Show was not only really good fun, it also raised money for 'movember'. A worthy cause. If the clouds look familiar... that's because they are from my recent Magic Garden show. It really amused me that by the addition of eyes and a beard or moustache, each cloud seemed to take on its own personality. I also made 5 small pencil and watercolour drawings of bearded ladies. I thought this was a befitting contribution as I was the only female artist in the show. I was really impressed with all the artists' work and it made for quite a quirky themed exhibition.

Bearded Beauties

Untitled (it's science)

2009-10-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

I love science. What I think I love most about it is the concept of it and everything it stands for: progress, systematic knowledge and a greater understanding of the world we live in, among other things. I mean... where would we be without it?

Magic Garden

2009-08-31T03:14:00.001-07:00

This photo: Max Fleet, Bundaberg Newsmail

I just installed this exhibition at the Bundaberg Regional Arts Gallery. I had the nicest week there and everyone at the gallery was so helpful and just darn lovely! It's also one of the coolest spaces I've exhibited (a converted 1920's bank vault, hence the name).

The difficult thing about installation is that you can have an idea of what you want it to look like but until it's in the gallery, well, that's when you really know. I was so happy with how this turned out, I feel like it really transformed the space into a very embedded part of my imagination. I got to relive my childhood fantasies where it's often in the most simple places that there is overwhelming joy and fulfillment. As a child there wasn't too much ready-made entertainment and so a lot of time was spent playing outdoors (like so many of us). So the garden became the centre of amusement and the most magical place where a child's imagination could create the greatest fictitious characters and stories. The garden was also a place where I loved to plant vegetables and watch them grow, and I remember feeling an enormous pride in doing what seems now, such an uncomplicated thing.

It's such a hard installation to capture in photos but worth a visit if you're up Bundy way. The last photo was taken by a very nice photographer for the Bundaberg newspaper.

Tales From The Cold Ghost III

2009-08-31T02:28:00.000-07:00

Cops! 1

Cops! 2

Cops! 1 & 2 (detail)

Tales From the Cold Ghost is a fantastic exhibition concocted from the minds of the two most inspiring young lasses I know- Tiny Gold! For this show I decided to try something a little different and do some wall based work that incorporated both painting and embroidery. The embroidered figures actually sit a centimetre or two off the backgrounds, still giving them a little bit of 3D-ness.

My focus for this series was Cops (the tv show- duh!). Once a popular prime time TV hit claiming to capture the reality of the US police force protecting the cherished ideals of American freedom and liberty. However at a closer look, Cops presents the insanity of a power-tripping police force juxtaposed against the stupidity of unfortunate criminals. With each episode the true parody of American culture is illuminated; a maniacal society clinging to a tacky and desperate popular culture. Cops is clearly removed from real life. Showcasing shocking brutality and an obvious one-dimensional approach to the American law enforcement system it continues to confuse our perception of justice.

With this work I wanted to pursue this absurdity by diluting American idealism to the point of the fanciful. I started with a screen grab which was then sketched and finally embroidered. While the original Cops image appears in the work as a distant tactile apparition, evil finds an unexpected home in the nostalgic world of arts and crafts.

1 x painting

2009-08-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

Today I did something very uncharacteristic and made a painting!
I combined 2 different little drawing ideas from my visual diary and this is the result. All I need to do is add a little gold paint into the tiny heart.

Lovers stack (a downhill ride)

2009-07-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

Minus Canvas 3, 2009. Jugglers Art Space

I'm Lichen You A Lot

2009-06-03T23:39:00.000-07:00

Photos: Michael Pham

Our rapidly developing society continues to blur the distinction between Science and Nature. In petri dishes all over the world, nature is being ‘re-designed’ for both beneficial and destructive ends.

I’m Lichen You A Lot is the most beautiful felt fungal disease to infect the city of Melbourne. Thousands of tiny felt lichen spanning many species, both real and invented, will create a saturating composition of ‘artificial nature’. I’m Lichen You A Lot is an attempt to challenge our increasingly confused notion of natural beauty, changing the city’s landscape with an injection of beautiful and fragile synthesized nature within the subway.

Aint got no money, aint got no hair

2009-06-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

Photos: Michael Pham

We tend to accept the common notion that death is the end of a form of life. For most living organisms like plants and humans death not only signifies an end but also precludes a necessary beginning for new life. In this work the fragile and often futile existence of a single human form is celebrated within the context of the immortal cycle of life. While the intricate network of human veins and arteries flow back to the earth from where they were taken, new life meanwhile rises triumphantly from their ashes. Delicately tactile, and intricately detailed, Aint got no money, aint got no hair is a work that demonstrates the inherent beauty of life through death.

Touch Me

2008-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Installing into the gallery. I had some good helpers!

Touch Me Touch may be a basic human need but it is more complex than it seems. In her provocatively titled soft sculpture work, Touch Me, Brisbane artist Sue-Ching Lascelles dramatises the contradictory impulses that underwrite our longing to both be touched and to protect oneself from the invasiveness of unwanted touching. A claustrophobic tangle of hands crafted from felt hang theatrically from the gallery roof and the viewer must push them aside to move through the space. While their warmth and tactility offer some comfort, the disembodied nature of the hands, their anonymity and their monumental scale are deeply unsettling. Lascelles has explored perceptions and memories of childhood in past sculptures but here nostalgia for childhood play is transformed into something inherently darker, confronting the viewer with the ways in which we construct personal boundaries at the same time we desire them to be transgressed. Ella Mudie

Jugglers Artspace Artists in Residence show 07

2008-11-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

We Make Shadow Puppets

2008-11-09T16:58:00.000-08:00

This work was part of the Young Brisbane Artists project, exhibited at Metro Arts, Brisbane.

A month of Sundays

2008-11-09T16:51:00.001-08:00

2008-11-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Haven't been so great at keeping this thing up to date. Will add a bunch of stuff, now or later.

Meaty

2008-05-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

opening night- butcher and all!

Jugglers Art Space artists in residence show 06

2008-05-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

I'm new in this blog town

2008-05-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, this is just a little space to view my artwork and what I'm doing next.