Words: Maximilian Levy // Main photo: Rosina Possingham
Multidisciplinary artist Miles Dunne’s inaugural solo exhibition, ‘Post-Organic’ at Staff Only in West Croydon, explores and questions our understanding and the future of nature in our lives.
Through a mix of wall-based and free-standing works, the exhibition positions sculptural objects as products of nature, exhibiting familiar traits and behaviours of natural species, while incorporating Miles’ fascination with light-based art.
“Each of the sculptural works in ‘Post-Organic’ were based on some natural species, ecosystem or phenomena, that served as inspiration for the sculptural form,” Miles explains.
“As an artist that regularly works with light, I’m inspired by the way sunlight interacts with things in interesting ways.
“The way that light passes through leaves, for example, is something that I always find so beautiful and fascinating. We don’t have a word for it in English, however in Japan they call it Komorebi, which was the inspiration for some of the works in ‘Post-Organic’.”
‘Post-Organic’ features an overarching soundscape designed by Sebastian Vivian that accompanies the gallery’s two central sculptures, Post Organic: Arid and Post-Organic: Marsh, and unifies the collection.
This exhibition, which was possible with the support of City of Charles Sturt Council, follows his involvement in this year’s annual Illuminate Adelaide festival, a recent tour with The Bait Fridge arts collective, and a self-funded residency in Montreal.
“The design process has been a huge undertaking that has highlighted the different creative skills I’ve developed over the last few years,” he says.
“I’m really happy with all of the works in the show, and making wall-based works has been really rewarding, as it’s something I haven’t done a lot of in the past.”
In conceptualising ‘Post-Organic’, as well as previous interactive installations, his interest has shifted from animation towards “bridging the gap of digital and physical spaces”.
This shift has involved experimenting with audience participation and a broader toolbox of outputs.
Through his practice, Miles attempts to recreate the “seemingly magical” sensation of experiencing new technology for the first time.
He explores the rapidly increasing integration of digital technology into everyday life and also applies technology in meaningful ways to produce “unique, awe inspiring, and highly personal experiences” for his viewers.
For Miles, ‘Post-Organic’ combines the centre point of his practice with his philosophical ideas of the world.
“Many of the ways in which nature is incorporated into our lives nowadays is tailored to suit our urban existence,” he says.
“It serves us in the ways we desire, but doesn’t necessarily represent or respect the ways these species evolved to exist in ecosystems.”
This notion of designed nature serves as a stimulant for contemplating the future.
‘Post-Organic’ offers its audience the question: Will there be a point in time where natural spaces cease to exist, and all places of “nature” become human designed?
While the answer remains unknown, Miles presents a glimpse into our societal understanding of nature and what may lie ahead.
‘Post-Organic’: Showing until Sunday November 10 // Staff Only, 1 Rosetta Street, West Croydon
