Alison McDonald
At Home Artist In Residence (AHAIR)
4-17 June 2020, Jensen, Townsville, QLD
Alison McDonald was one of the three AHAIRs in the 2020 COVID-responsive program. Her project Waiting for Go responded directly to that time period.
Project Summary
“Waking me at night was a list of COVID-19 related words, I wrote them down. I was not sure why, but I wanted to utilise these into an artwork about this current time. Perhaps I was trying to find order amongst the disorder in current lives. My choice of medium to work with for my 14 day at home artist-in-residency, also links with my conceptual profile. It is slices of emerald green anodised aluminium waste from a JCU building, but slightly different extrusions and shapes, echoing my view of people and countries in the world today and their individual capacity to cope at a time of crisis.”
Art in Isolation
In partnership with Umbrella, local filmmaker Ben Cocklin recently created a short film in conjunction with Alison McDonald's residency. Ben spoke with Alison to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on her life and artistic practice.
Directed, shot and edited by Ben Cocklin | Production Assistant: Marjorie Cutting
AHAIR Public Program – Alison McDonald Studio Q&A
5pm Wednesday 17 June 2020, live-streamed on our facebook.
Work in progress images
Completed artwork
Alison McDonald, Waiting for go, 2020, Reused anodised aluminium etched, copper, sterling silver, titanium, stainless steel, brass and wood, 20 x 47 x 46cm. Image 1 courtesy the artist. This COVID-responsive artwork was created as part of the AHAIR project and exhibited in the 2020 Umbrella Members’ Exhibition & Bamford Medical Art Prize.
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408 Flinders Street,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia
PO Box 2394,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia
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Acknowledgement of Country
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region - Bindal, Gugu Badhan, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal - as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
Umbrella is a Dealer Member of the Indigenous Art Code. This means we are committed to fair and ethical trade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and transparency in the promotion and sale of artwork. As a Dealer Member and signatory to the Code we must act fairly, honestly, professionally and in good conscience in all direct or indirect dealings with artists.
Acknowledgements
Umbrella is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments. | Umbrella is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. | Townsville City Council is a funding partner of Umbrella's program.
