The National Art School is proud to present Conjunctures, a major new exhibition by artist Hannah Quinlivan commissioned for The Drawing Gallery. The Canberra-based artist works in expanded fields of drawing across installation, light, weaving, drawing and sculpture with time-based works.
This exhibition is informed by cultural theorist Raymond Williams’ concept of the “structure of feeling”, proposing that each generation’s patterns of thought share characteristic impulses, restraints and tones, similarities structured by their social conjunctures and geographical circumstances. The works in this exhibition aim to heighten awareness of the structures of feeling, creating a complex and engaging visual environment.
The atmosphere of a place is not just a reflection of its physical environment, but also a multi-faceted interplay between material, social, sensory and emotional elements. Quinlivan’s new spatial drawings for the National Art School provide an invitation to explore the intricate connections between place and the social structure of feeling, drawing out and amplifying the affective atmospheres of our time.
In her 2022 catalogue essay on Quinlivan’s work, curator Sita McAlpine says: “Through various methods of exploring line and form – via traditional drawing techniques, canvas painting, wire and salt installation, as well the use of LED lighting – Hannah challenges the way we expect drawing to operate and be presented. Subsequently her work becomes experiential not only in its physicality but also through a range of conceptual connections.
“Grappling with contemporary issues such as human migration, emotional cognition, time’s flowing passage and more traditional explorations of landscape and remoteness, Hannah’s work uses processes of repetition, ephemerality and the interplay of light and shadow to open up discussions around some of contemporary society’s most pressing topics. The evolving quality of her practice gives Quinlivan’s work an organic, living quality that creates an immersive experience for the viewer.”
