2019 Meagan Streader Silent Structures - MARS Art Gallery Melbourne

Meagan Structures | Silent Structures

7 November – 7 December 2019

Meagan Streader, Relink, 2019<br/>Ripple Glass, pine, enamel paint, U-bend Fluorescent lights and electronic components, 130 x 100 x 200 cm (approx)

Meagan Streader, Reroute, 2019<br/>Ripple Glass, white moulding, Fluorescent lights and electronic components, 70 x 70 x 7 cm (approx)

Meagan Streader, Reflex, 2019<br/>Ripple Glass, white moulding, Fluorescent lights and electronic components, 100 x 50 x 7 cm (approx)

Meagan Streader, Restraint, 2019<br/>Ripple Glass, white moulding, Fluorescent lights and electronic components, 120 x 44 x 7 cm (approx)

Meagan Streader, Revere, 2019<br/>Ripple Glass, white moulding, Fluorescent lights and electronic components, 70 x 90 x 7 cm (approx)

‘Silent structures’ is a series of new sculptures exploring light and geometric simplicity. This collection of new works presents a departure from previous investigations into site-specific light installations, however continues to respond to and reinterpret architectural elements through illumination, colour and material. Reminiscent of neon and art-deco styles, this new body of work uses commercial off-shelf components and materials reconstructed to create unique geometric abstractions of light evocative of the window or stained-glass treatments. Contrasting the window’s original function to let light in and cast coloured patterns on interior spaces, these works actively trap the fluorescent light piercing through the frames behind the rippled glass.

Streader uses illumination to reveal the internal construction of the electronic ballasts and cabling — using texture, colour and distortion to re-orient the perception of the viewer and their relationship to the constructed elements. Through blurred of seemingly vibrating illuminated lines the works suggest an illusion of movement, with the various arrangements of linear light creating an ambigous sense of depth behind textured glass.

Meagan Streader’s work pushes the limits of light within sculpture and installation. Reflecting the Minimalist art of the Light and Space movement, Streader manipulates, reinterprets and extends upon the boundaries of constructed spaces. Through site-specific interventions, her multidimensional use of light reorientates the viewer’s relationship to the pre-existing architecture and scale of a given space. In this way, Streader’s work reveals the pervasive role of light in governing physical and social navigations of fabricated spaces.

Meagan Streader is currently based in Melbourne. She completed a BFA/Visual Arts at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (2010). She has exhibited both nationally and internationally including at Arts House (Melbourne, 2019), Home of the Arts (Surfers Paradise, 2019), Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (Sydney, 2017-2018), Blindside (Melbourne, 2019), Milani Carpark (Brisbane, 2019), Nicholas Projects (Melbourne, 2017) and Metro Arts (Brisbane, 2016). She has exhibited major installation works for Dark Mofo (Hobart, 2019), Kyneton Contemporary Art Triennial (Kyneton, 2018), Soft Centre Festival (Sydney, 2017, 2018) and Amsterdam Light Festival (Netherlands). She has also participated in the Kochi AIR program (India, 2014) and NARS Foundation Residency (New York, 2016). Streader has had artwork commissioned for Moreland City Council (Melbourne), BCM (Brisbane), HASSELL Architecture (Brisbane), Gadens Lawyers (Brisbane), Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD), and Gasworks Plaza (QLD). Her work has been selected as a finalist in Churchie National Emerging Art Prize (2016) and Footscray Art Prize (2017) and featured in ABC’s The Mix, Eyeline Contemporary Art Magazine, The Creator’s Project, mondo*arc and FRAME magazines.