Julia Robinson’s solo exhibition ‘Split by the Spade’ and publication launches on 30th July at Adelaide Central Gallery.
Julia Robinson’s ambitious new installation ‘Split by the Spade’ is the latest entry in her ongoing series of odes to the folk horror genre. This exhibition promises to be a finely crafted, immersive experience by Robinson, highly esteemed graduate and staff member of Adelaide Central School of Art and the 2024 SALA feature artist.
Since 2003, Julia Robinson's textile-focused sculpture and installation practice has ruminated on enduring human narratives around sacrifice, sex, and death. Living and working on Kaurna land in Adelaide, South Australia but drawing on the folkloric and, importantly, folk horror traditions of her British ancestry, Robinson conflates humour and horror in ever more unexpected ways. In this, the first major publication dedicated to Robinson's practice, curator Leigh Robb, novelist and poet Hannah Kent, and visual artist Jess Taylor examine her work through their respective lenses and weave together the visual art, literature, folklore, and film most influential to Robinson's practice. The essays and poems contained within are accompanied by reproductions of key works in stunning detail which reveal the artist's keen understanding of historical costuming and sewing techniques. This monograph surveys over twenty years of a prolific and wildly imaginative visual art practice, that combines exceptional technical skill, fantastical invention and thoroughly researched cultural touchstones.
‘Split by the Spade’ will be on display at Adelaide Central Gallery from 30 July to 6 September as part of the 2024 SALA Festival.