‘SENSE OF SELF’
GROUP EXHIBITION UPCOMING AT HAKE, HOUSE.
CURATED BY ASH HOLMES - PARTICIPATING ARTISTS.
CATALOGUE AVAILABLE - Wednesday 9th April, 8:30am (AEDT)
OPENING DAY | Saturday 12th April, 9am - 3pm Complimentary Pour Over Coffee by Skittle Lane.
ON VIEW | Friday 11th April - Monday 28th April.
Curatorial Statement
Art exists in the space between the internal and external—shaped by memory, perception, and the quiet residue of experience. It is both a mirror and a vessel, reflecting the artist’s inner world while filtering the impressions of the world beyond. Sense of Self explores this delicate convergence, where visual language becomes a tether between what is felt, what is created and what is seen.
An artist’s practice is an ongoing dialogue, unfolding with each gesture, each decision, each mark. In this conversation, the self is not fixed but fluid, shifting between introspection and observation, between presence and absence. The works in this exhibition embody this movement, speaking in forms that hover between clarity and ambiguity, inviting interpretation rather than imposing meaning.
Light, colour, space, and texture act as dialects within this visual language—fragments of thought expressed through visual rhythm. Some works whisper, others declare, but all engage in the same fundamental pursuit: to translate the unspoken, to make visible the intangible.
In Sense of Self, the act of creation is not just a means of expression but a process of discovery, a way of understanding one’s place within the world. Here, art is not a statement of identity but an exploration of it—open-ended, evolving, and endlessly unfolding. Here, art is not a definitive statement of identity but an exploration of it—open-ended, fluid, and always in motion. In this space, meaning is not prescribed but emerges, revealing itself through the interaction between artist, artwork, and viewer.
Words by Venn Miles
Images for TAPPAN by Luke Chiswell.
LUKE CHISWELL
“The movement and texture within the works reflects the level of intensity in my creative process - intuitive markings, scratches and scrawls both deliberate and accidental, are all visible. Excessive folds of canvas elude to more than fits the frame, more of the space of interest than can fit within the work. Trying to fit more in.
The objet trouve materials which form my sculptural work highlight the importance of artistic choice. The combination of materials gathered from a chosen environment are considered based on the perceived time value of each object, collectively creating an abstract representation of time. The lifespan of each individual material in the work then articulates its function as a measurement of time. Considering a rock is older than a branch, I use the rock to represent the longest length of time within a work. Freezing fabric in motion, or casting rock and branch in metal, I addresses past and future through direction of movement, capturing a short moment in time, attempting to hold on to it and make it last.”
- Luke Chiswell
Images for TAPPAN by Amy Wright.
AMY WRIGHT
Wright is a prolific multidisciplinary artist with a diverse background in Painting and Drawing, Surface Pattern Design and Floral Artistry. Wright has formal training in in the Fine Arts from VCA and a BA (Honours) in Textile Design from RMIT.
Following her academic studies, Amy worked in corporate design studios within the Automotive Industry ( GM Holden, Melbourne and Detroit). She has lectured at RMIT University across textiles, painting and drawing and was Lead Lecturer at design school, ISCD in Melbourne. She has worked as a freelance designer in the textile design industry, as well as creating her own homewares textile brand and running a retail studio (A Shop called Milton) in Prahran Vic. Prior to becoming a mother in 2017, Amy ran and was the principle designer at ‘Wunderplant,’ a floral design business, specialising in weddings and events.
While she has explored various avenues in her creative career, her background is suggestive of her lust for exploration and experimentation, a drive for learning and a personal push for creative growth. Having painted for several decades, it has been the past 8 years that she has been fully immersed in the studio as a full time Artist.
Images by Josh Sabini for AT THE ABOVE Gallery.
MAGNUS REID
MAGNUS REID (b.1989, Perth, Western Australia) is a self-taught painter with work held in prestigious private collections in across the UK, America and Australia. Multi-skilled and eclectically talented, Magnus began his artistic career in 2020 to serve as an creative outlet post restaurant service while working as a chef in his London establishments.
His painting style is raw and textured, experimenting with a light hearted approach to ideas based around freedom, nature, spiritualism and the connection between them. Magnus currently lives and works in Mallorca, Spain.
Images for HAKE, HOUSE - Kane Lehanneur in his studio.
KANE LEHANNEUR
Kane Lehanneur is an emerging, multidisciplinary artist who works across painting, printmaking, photography and moving image. Utilising these mediums, Lehanneur engages with the complex and multidimensional spaces that connect physical and meta-physical worlds. The artist’s practice reflects this through a deep exploration of both the self and the realms of the afterlife. Based upon un-ceded Gayemegal land in Sydney’s north, Kane’s background in design, photography and videography is revealed through a strong discernment of colour, composition, balance, and texture studies.
LUCY ANDERSON
Lucy Anderson is a Brisbane based artist who works predominantly with oil on found pieces of pine. Since graduating in 2012 from Queensland College of Art, Lucy has held solo exhibitions and been part of various group shows and art prizes in Australia including receiving ‘highly commended’ at the 2018 Moreton Bay Art Awards and Belle Art Start. Her works are part of private and public collections including Queensland University of Technology.
Images for HAKE, HOUSE by @sourwhat and Ash Holmes.
ASH HOLMES
Ash Holmes is a Sydney-based artist whose abstract paintings draw inspiration from her surroundings on Guringai Land (Sydney’s Northern Beaches) and her exploration of color psychology. As a self-taught, fourth-generation artist, Holmes channels her creativity naturally, often working intuitively based on impulsive visions or unexpected sources of inspiration.
Her work is characterised by soft, muted tones, layers of oil and acrylic, and gestural mark-making that evoke memory and introspection. Through her large-scale canvases, she creates a sensory connection between the audience and the landscape, using harmonious tones and expressive brushstrokes to narrate her experiences.
Holmes has gained recognition as a finalist in several prestigious awards, including the Mosman Art Prize, Lloyd Rees Memorial Award, and Combat Art Prize. In 2021, she was selected as the resident artist for the Harbord Hotel in Sydney. Her work has been exhibited in sell-out shows and is part of private collections across Australia, New Zealand, US, UK, Denmark, Canada, Singapore, Dubai, Germany, Hong Kong, West Africa, France, Japan, China and Spain.