Justene Williams
Art on James
The Calile Hotel, James Street
At first glance, passers-by may assume Justene Williams’s show is another fashion pop-up. Her sculptures resonate against the traditional idealisation of the female form. Some look like sleek mannequins, albeit absurdly attenuated and coloured, attired and posed. Others are crude assemblages—more pop-primitive. Either way, there’s something fetishistic and totemic about them. Check out this fleeting exhibit on the ground floor of the Calile hotel (the old Dion Lee store space). This exhibition is a partnership with Art on James.
Since 2011, James Street has explored the intersection of art and commerce via its Art on James platform. Art on James offers the James Street community opportunities to enjoy works outside the gallery, on the street and in retail spaces. To date, it has featured works by Ben Quilty, Richard Bell, Vernon Ah Kee, Helga Groves, Pope Alice, Jonathan Zawada, Jon Cattapan, Gerwyn Davies, Sam Cranstoun, Dale Harding, Sebastian Moody, Jemima Wyman, Ghost Patrol, Ross Manning, and Zac Langdon-Pole.
Justene Williams was born in Sydney in 1970 and lives in Meanjin/Brisbane. Many of her projects have been inspired by early twentieth-century modernism, channelling dada cabaret, futurist operas, and Bauhaus ballet through a suburban Australia lens. She has shown at the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, and Buxton Contemporary, and is a senior lecturer at Queensland College of Art. She is represented by Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne.
