Julia Robinson SALA Monograph publication: written by Leigh Robb, Hannah Kent, Jess Taylor

The release of this publication was launched in tandem with Julia Robinson’s major solo exhibition ‘Split by the Spade’ at Adelaide Central Gallery, from 30 July to 6 September, as well as a satellite presentation of works at the Art Gallery of South Australia, as part of the 2024 SALA Festival.

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.

Leigh Robb joined the Art Gallery of South Australia as the inaugural Curator of Contemporary Art in 2016. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Psychology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, and her Masters in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. With twenty years of experience in the arts Leigh's previous roles include Curator at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Associate Director at Thomas Dane Gallery, London, and Head of Education & Internship Programs at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice. Leigh has curated over fifty exhibitions and has a reputation for working closely with artists to produce ambitious and memorable Australian and international projects.

Hannah Kent's first novel, the multi-award-winning international bestseller, Burial Rites, was translated into over thirty languages and is being adapted for film. Her second novel, The Good People was translated into ten languages, nominated for numerous awards and is also being adapted for film. Devotion, her third novel, published in 2021, won Booktopia's Favourite Australian Book, and was shortlisted for multiple industry awards. Her original feature film, Run Rabbit Run, was directed by Daina Reid and starred Sarah Snook. Hannah is also the co-founder of Kill Your Darlings, and has written for the New York Times, the Saturday Paper, the Guardian, the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, Meanjin, Qantas Magazine and LitHub. She lives and works on Peramangk and Kaurna country.

Jess Taylor is an early-career artist who lives and works on Kaurna land. Taylor's work explores her fascination with fictional horror through primarily digital methods of making, with a focus on concepts of the monstrous, voyeurism, and depictions of female brutality, sadism, and masochism. Taylor sees horror as a genre that interrogates and reveals our darkest cultural norms, and whose women offer powerful tales of suffering, empowerment and retribution. Graduating with honours from Adelaide Central School of Art in 2013, Taylor completed a Masters by Research in 2018. Taylor has exhibited nationally, holding solo exhibitions in a number of galleries including FELTspace, Seventh gallery and Hugo Michell gallery. She has been a finalist and awardee in several art prizes and was an ACE studio resident in 2019. Taylor currently works out of her home studio and lecturers at Adelaide Central School of Art.

Published by Wakefield Press
Dimensions: 280 x 235 mm
176 Pages