Visual Arts & Film

Backdown to Earth

An exhibition of striking new artworks that offer a glimpse into the world of micro-organisms.

  • Dates 26 Sep - 09 Oct
  • Time 12:00pm - 5:00pm, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, 12:00pm - 6:00pm (Come and go as you please)
  • Venue @14
FREE EVENT
Sessions & Tickets View Comments
The image depicts a colourful painting, featuring organic shapes in different shades of brown, yellow, purple, green, orange, blue and silver. The shapes are outlined in red, and look like things such as microscopic cells, stained glass windows and cracked concrete.
The image depicts a bright, colourful painting that features organic shapes in different shades of red, brown, cream, purple, green, orange, blue and aqua. Based on the DnA molecule, the shapes are outlined in red, and look like things such as microscopic cells, stained glass windows and archeological layers.
The image depicts a colourful painting, featuring organic shapes in different earthy shades of brown, orange, red, purple, green, orange and blue. The shapes are outlined in purple and silver, and look like things such as microscopic cells, stained glass windows and cracked concrete.
Past Event

Image Credit: Christian Capurro

The image depicts a colourful painting, featuring organic shapes in different shades of brown, yellow, purple, green, orange, blue and silver. The shapes are outlined in red, and look like things such as microscopic cells, stained glass windows and cracked concrete.
The image depicts a bright, colourful painting that features organic shapes in different shades of red, brown, cream, purple, green, orange, blue and aqua. Based on the DnA molecule, the shapes are outlined in red, and look like things such as microscopic cells, stained glass windows and archeological layers.
The image depicts a colourful painting, featuring organic shapes in different earthy shades of brown, orange, red, purple, green, orange and blue. The shapes are outlined in purple and silver, and look like things such as microscopic cells, stained glass windows and cracked concrete.

  • Artist: Sean McDowell

  • Hosted by: @14 Langridge

‘Backdown to Earth’ is an exhibition experience by emerging, Naarm (Melbourne) based artist Sean McDowell. The show features a collection of new paintings and drawings that continue the artists ongoing exploration of fabrication techniques and the poetics of materials. The artworks are inspired by his interests in psychology, biology and microscopy - to fractal geometry, geology, neuroscience and spirituality.

Approached through lived experiences and collective narratives of trauma, disease and illness, ‘Backdown to Earth’ offers a glimpse into the awe-inspiring world of micro-organisms that exist within and surround us every day. Blending together representation and abstraction, the artworks have been inspired by found microscopic images of human and plant cells. In the exhibition, you are invited to investigate the complexity of the natural world, where patterns and shapes repeat themselves in a self-similar manner.

Offering a unique perspective on the relationship between micro and macro, the artworks depict intricate patterns, organic shapes and different line networks that use contrasting colours, depth and different textures to evoke various sensual, emotional and psychological states. Additionally, the exhibition takes inspiration from personal observations of aerial landscapes, the ocean, stained glass windows and geological diggings.

Sean McDowell is an emerging artist currently taking part in the 2023 Billilla Studio Program through the Bayside City Council. In 2020, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at The University of Melbourne. Recent solo exhibitions include 'Organisms,' Five Walls, 'In the day I dream of faraway places,' Kingston Arts and 'The Staging of Actions Past,' St Francis.

This project received Cash for Equity through the Fringe Fund, as part of the Ralph Mclean Microgrants program.

About Sean McDowell Studio

I’m an emerging German-born artist based in Melbourne (Naarm), Australia. Working primarily across painting, sculpture and exhibition-making, my practice explores interests ranging from psychology, fractal geometry and neuroscience to biology, microscopy, museology and spirituality. I also draw on art historical narratives and autobiographical elements relating to live experiences with disability and trauma. The act of collecting lies at the heart of my practice, where I draw on found and bought materials as the point of departure.

Driven by a deep, ongoing engagement with materials and fabrication processes, my work re-interprets new, multi-layered pathways between things. Through a series of actions, the subject matter is often re-contextualised as a way of challenging its pre-existing framework, while allowing the potential for different interpretations and connections to arise. By shifting the viewers perception and questioning their associations to the work, I am interested in the blurring of imagery that occurs between representation and abstraction – observation and the imagination.

In 2020, I completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) at the Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne under the supervision of Tessa Laird. Selected solo exhibition include Organisms, Five Walls, In the day I dream of faraway places, Kingston Arts Centre, The Staging of Actions Past, St Francis, Selected Works, Rubicon ARI and Cuprum, Cuprum, Kings Artist Run. I have been included in group exhibitions including From Heart & Mind, The Dax Centre, Extended Gestures Extended, Five Walls, and Group Conversations: Australia’s Shame, George Paton Gallery. In 2018, I was the recipient of the Perrin Sculpture Foundry Award and have been shortlisted for numerous prizes, including The 2017 Mary and Lou Senini Student Art Award, McClelland Gallery, the 2018 Footscray Tertiary Art Price and the 2019 Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Fellowship.

sean-mcdowell.com

  • Duration: Come and go as you please

  • Event Accessibility: Deaf or Hard of Hearing Rating: Fully Accessible, English no barrier

  • Age suitability: G

  • Event warnings: Some Infrequent/Low Pressure Audience Interaction.

  • Content warnings: Death, Mental Health, Illness, Disease.

VIP Preview Event: 6-8pm, Wednesday 27th of September, 2023 Closing Event: 3-6pm, Sunday 8th of October, 2023

  • Free Event

*Prices are subject to change without notice. Standard terms and conditions apply.

Sessions: In Person Events

Date Time Venue

Tuesday, 26 September 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Wednesday, 27 September 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Wednesday, 27 September 2023

6:00pm

@14

Free

Note: VIP Preview Event 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Thursday, 28 September 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Friday, 29 September 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Saturday, 30 September 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Sunday, 01 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Sold Out
 Past Event

Monday, 02 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Tuesday, 03 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Sold Out
 Past Event

Wednesday, 04 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Thursday, 05 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Friday, 06 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Sold Out
 Past Event

Saturday, 07 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Sunday, 08 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Free

Note: Closing Event 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Monday, 09 October 2023

12:00pm

@14

Sold Out
 Past Event

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