SUSAN JACOBS: THE ANTS ARE IN THE IDIOM
3 June – 30 October 2022A presentation of newly commissioned work by Australian-born, London-based artist Susan Jacobs.
A meditation on the relationship between language and matter, the exhibition is an expansive sculptural environment that draws the viewer into a web of visual riddles. Jacobs’ poetic approach to materials is underpinned by research into systems of thought that have shaped – and mis-shaped – human knowledge. Playful allusions to science, psychology and mythology jostle with visual puns and word games. Enlivened by the imaginative potential of misinterpretation, the exhibition is a rhizomatic sculptural network that stimulates a process of associative looking in the viewer.
The artist has developed this work over several years, experimenting with materials in her studio to articulate a sculptural language informed by cumulative layers of environmental observation and historical research. The ants are in the idiom could be read as an allegory for a way of working as an artist or, on a more universal level, for the human drive to make meaning of our surroundings.
Curated by Jacqueline Doughty.
Free Entry
Wednesday – Sunday
11am – 5pm
Hear from the artist
Gallery
Susan Jacobs, Hindsight 20/20, 2022
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
Susan Jacobs, A Recipe for Mice 2022
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
Susan Jacobs, Cope (Tree) 2022 (detail)
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
Susan Jacobs, A Recipe for Scorpions 2021
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
Susan Jacobs
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
Susan Jacobs
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
Susan Jacobs
Installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro.
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SUPPORTERS
The development of this exhibition was supported by an Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship
All works courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne
Image credit: Susan Jacobs, Hindsight 20/20 2022 (detail), installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022. Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro