[Press Release] Nicola Hardy and Phil Schöde, Tully Arnot

Wed Dec 3 18:52:56 CST 2008

firstdraft
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"THE LET'S COME TOGETHER & FEEL ALRIGHT SHOW" Nicola Hardy and Phil Schöde
As part of the Firstdraft Emerging Artist Studio Residency Program

"OBLITERATION" curated by Tully Arnot
As part of the Firstdraft Emerging Curators Program

opens Wednesday 10 December, 6-8pm
exhibition continues to 27 December 2008

Artists Talks
Saturday 27 December, 4.30pm
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"The Let's Come Together & Feel Alright Show"
Nicola Hardy and Phil Schöde

German artist Chill Phil Schöde and local comic book kid and mischief
maker Nicola Hardy have transformed a pile of cardboard into a beautiful
world - an island home for all the cool and amazing people and animals.
This mythical fantastical place comes to life at Firstdraft Gallery from
December 10 until December 27, 2008.

"We have created an ideal environment where everyone has their own place
and where friendship, unity and having a great time are of utmost
importance". This place is not like the real world as it is mostly made of
cardboard. "We invite you to come along to the exhibition to meet the
residents of Friendship Island and enjoy a beer at The Büdchen, which has
been taken from the island and transported to Surry Hills for a few weeks
for your viewing pleasure".

A Büdchen is a small booth or kiosk usually found on the streets of Köln
(Germany) where snacks, newspapers, candy and beer are sold. These little
shops are individually owned and each has its own unique flavour and are
decorated according to the taste of the owner: so you will see football
memorabilia, photos, stickers and cool toys. You can buy zines, comics and
other products will be available for you to purchase.

Utopia may be chaotic but it is vibrant and everyone tries to get along
because "friendship is bjutifull".

Nicola Hardy and Phil Schöde are Firstdraft's 8th studio residents for
2008. The Emerging Artist Studio Program is supported by the Australian
Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory
body.

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"Obliteration"
Lauren Booker, Tara Cook, Angela Garrick, Neg Head, Alex Kiers, Jack
Mannix, Orit Meylakh, Johanna Olminkhof, Sally Pittman, Chris Petro, Shaun
South

Curated by Tully Arnot

“I think sculpture is a more primitive form of art than painting
 there’s
something essentially infantile about the sculptural relation to matter.
It has to do with the infant differentiating itself from the world.. of
course, that’s a disaster, because the infant wants to think of itself as
continuous with the universe – the infantile omnipotence. It’s a disaster
when one realises one is discontinuous. There is the self, and all that is
not the self. And sculpture has something to do with that fundamental
feeling.”

- Carl Andre 1972

Obliteration explores the physical and emotional continuum created through
loss of self. The works exhibited are situated between self and non-self,
dissolving boundaries between artist, audience and curator.

Some works utilise interactivity as a tool to activate and complete the
works, while others express an awareness of interactivity through
deliberate non-performance. These interactions reflect the psychologically
regressive potential of self-obliteration, they are expressed in a way
that explores base human relationships rather than intellectual analysis.
Inherent in the physically human element of the show, is a strong sense of
spatiality underlying the curation of each work.

The exhibition includes a number of artists who have no formal training,
or that have previously never exhibited. The show looks at the artist’s
personal expression of the self and the non-self as it exists both
interior and exterior to the art field.

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Attached images:
friendship is bjutifull
Obliteration

For media enquiries contact mail at firstdraftgallery.com
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Firstdraft
116-118 Chalmers St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
t: +61 (0)2 9698 3665 e: mail at firstdraftgallery.com
http://www.firstdraftgallery.com

Firstdraft open hours: Wednesday to Saturday 12 - 6pm

Firstdraft is supported by NSW Ministry for the Arts and the Australian
Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding
and advisory body.

Firstdraft is also supported by Bristol.

Firstdraft is a non-profit gallery run on a voluntary basis by a group of
practising artists. It is one of the longest running and most successful
artist-run initiatives in Australia. Firstdraft asserts the importance of
contemporary art production, dissemination and discussion in society,
providing a stimulating exhibition space that is professional and
accessible for a diverse range of artistic practices and projects.
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