Conceived as a means of transcending harsh realities, Brief Forays into Reality is an exhibition that serves as both a hands-on escape for the artist and a form of ‘pragmatic dreaming’ for viewers. Positioned between reality and the surreal, these functional objects offer an entry point into a unique artistic realm.
Drew Abrahamson embraces curiosity over convenience with each creation starting as a mere scribble on his studio wall which then “all gets a little more cowboy from there,” he explains. With a keen eye for detail and a meticulous process, the designer employs unconventional techniques to produce distinctive designs.
Functioning as both furniture and social artefact, these works are meticulously sculpted by hand using a mix of new and reclaimed materials. This eclectic array includes protest signs, a large-scale painting of Michael Jackson, and salvaged wood. Through his work, Drew presents an exploration of the asymmetric chaos found in modern civilisation and the harmony of Mother Nature.
Participants
Drew Abrahamson
Drew Abrahamson, a native of Adelaide, South Australia, now calls his Melbourne studio home. As a self-taught designer and artist, he draws inspiration from his surroundings – hedonism, the fabulous, and Earth’s natural wonders – infusing his work with reflections on the asymmetric chaos of nature and modern civilization. With a background in illustration, sculpture, landscaping, and carpentry, Drew works across diverse mediums, embracing a range of materials without hesitation. His practice evolves continually, defying easy categorisation.
Emmaline is a lens-based artist, using combinations of video, photography, sculpture and performance to create work that looks for humour and meaning in the everyday through absurdity and surrealism. Her work has been exhibited in galleries nationally including Stills Gallery (NSW), Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (WA), The Centre for Contemporary Photography (VIC), and the Art Gallery of South Australia. Her work has been published in the British Journal of Photography and Suddeustche Zeitung magazine, and screened at Arles Photography Festival in France.
Morgan Meier is a writer, curator, and creative consultant. Averse to trends and intrigued by zeitgeist, she threads the cultural, historical, and commercial to tell stories that resonate across spatial, visual, and written mediums. Previously living in Melbourne, she now resides in New York, where she works as Gallery Director of Objective Gallery and as a freelancer. Morgan is enamoured by the phenomenon of humans living and making; her work is resistant to confinement and consistently non-linear, cutting across the disciplinary lines of art, writing, film, design, and cultural critique.
Conceived as a means of transcending harsh realities, Brief Forays into Reality is an exhibition that serves as both a hands-on escape for the artist and a form of ‘pragmatic dreaming’ for viewers. Positioned between reality and the surreal, these functional objects offer an entry point into a unique artistic realm.
Drew Abrahamson embraces curiosity over convenience with each creation starting as a mere scribble on his studio wall which then “all gets a little more cowboy from there,” he explains. With a keen eye for detail and a meticulous process, the designer employs unconventional techniques to produce distinctive designs.
Functioning as both furniture and social artefact, these works are meticulously sculpted by hand using a mix of new and reclaimed materials. This eclectic array includes protest signs, a large-scale painting of Michael Jackson, and salvaged wood. Through his work, Drew presents an exploration of the asymmetric chaos found in modern civilisation and the harmony of Mother Nature.
Participants
Drew Abrahamson
Drew Abrahamson, a native of Adelaide, South Australia, now calls his Melbourne studio home. As a self-taught designer and artist, he draws inspiration from his surroundings – hedonism, the fabulous, and Earth’s natural wonders – infusing his work with reflections on the asymmetric chaos of nature and modern civilization. With a background in illustration, sculpture, landscaping, and carpentry, Drew works across diverse mediums, embracing a range of materials without hesitation. His practice evolves continually, defying easy categorisation.
Emmaline is a lens-based artist, using combinations of video, photography, sculpture and performance to create work that looks for humour and meaning in the everyday through absurdity and surrealism. Her work has been exhibited in galleries nationally including Stills Gallery (NSW), Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (WA), The Centre for Contemporary Photography (VIC), and the Art Gallery of South Australia. Her work has been published in the British Journal of Photography and Suddeustche Zeitung magazine, and screened at Arles Photography Festival in France.
Morgan Meier is a writer, curator, and creative consultant. Averse to trends and intrigued by zeitgeist, she threads the cultural, historical, and commercial to tell stories that resonate across spatial, visual, and written mediums. Previously living in Melbourne, she now resides in New York, where she works as Gallery Director of Objective Gallery and as a freelancer. Morgan is enamoured by the phenomenon of humans living and making; her work is resistant to confinement and consistently non-linear, cutting across the disciplinary lines of art, writing, film, design, and cultural critique.
