The Bone People
Brenda Runnegar
Window Gallery, Belconnen Arts Centre
Opening: 6pm Friday 5 April 2024
Exhibition: 5 April – 19 May 2024
The Bone People exhibition operates as a diorama featuring a herd of imaginary animals – some with riders. The Bone family are onlookers – either seated or standing on the side. Insects will also be included.
These handmade forms provide an intimate experience for the audience serving as portal into an alternative world, where one can interact with exotic marvels and improbable anatomy.
The sculptures are made from fish bones collected at the beach. The bones have been sterilized and bleached and then clay or textiles and glass or shell eyes have been added. The have wire armatures which make them able to stand alone.
On the back wall will be a series of digital photographs featuring the sculptures in an appropriate environment. This provides opportunities to distort the light and scale in order to emphasis the mystery and atmosphere of the scene. They are also featured in interiors or as a still life. Props are sometimes used to highlight and emphasize the character and quirky personalities of the figures or animals.
The concepts provide an intimate experience for the audience, operating as a portal to an alternative world where one can interact with the figures in strange juxtapositions.
About Brenda Runnegar
As a Multimedia artist Brenda Runnegar specialises in painting, sculpture, photography and textiles. Her forty-odd year-long practice is characterised by the use of the surreal and dreamlike.
She completed a Master of Fine Arts by research in 2007 and has worked professionally as an Educator, Arts Administrator, Gallery Manager and Project Manager in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. Since 1981 she has exhibited in numerous prestigious group exhibitions and has had seventeen solo exhibitions.
Her most recent work has involved re-examining the use of textiles and soft sculptures (art doll making) and digital imaging.
Website: www.brendarunnegar.com.au
Facebook: @Brenda.Runnegar23
Instagram: @brendarunnegar