OAKEY: Deep Rest

February 3, 2024 - March 17, 2024

ADELAIDE FRINGE 2024

Gallery 3 & 4

Exhibition launch February 3 at 4-6pm

Guest Opening Speaker Sarah Feijen - CEO Guildhouse

In Conversation: Oakey & Catherine Truman: Sunday Feb 18 at 11:30am - 12:30pm

Performance: Sunday March 3 at 10 - 2pm

a 4 hour walking meditation within the gallery space.

This exhibition is a response to an epic adventure Oakey made in October 2023. In search of deep rest, the Kaurna-based artist climbed on her motorbike and rode 1,500km to Yaegl Country, Northern NSW to take part in a solo bush wilderness retreat.

This was a four-day/four-night experience that involved sleeping on the forest floor inside a circle four metres wide: alone, no food, only water for sustenance and a mosquito net and tarp for protection. 

The experience was deeply transformative and regenerative. Many of the featured works in this exhibition were realised during these days of introspection and release.

BIO

Oakey is an emerging contemporary artist based in Tarntanya/Adelaide whose practice traverses sculpture, site-specific installations and sound. Working out of Central Studios, she uses a range of materials, creating nuanced responses to both urban and natural environments.

Oakey uses her experiences of being fully immersed in diverse natural environments from the Amazon Rainforest to Timbuktu as inspiration for her work . She has a deep fascination in the interconnectedness of the living world and our relationship to it. Her creative process delves into the realms of unseen forces, networks, and spaces, operating on both a cellular and cosmic level. Her work particularly focuses on the exploration of consciousness, hidden energies, and the healing power of plants and nature.

Since completing her Bachelor of Creative Arts degree with first class honours in 2019 Oakey has been awarded studio residencies at ACE and George St Studios. She has received a Guildhouse Catapult mentorship with Catherine Truman and a glass blowing mentorship at the JamFactory.

Oakey's ephemeral artwork Reverence was awarded first prize at the 2022 Heysen Sculpture Biennial. Beyond her arts practice, Oakey also serves as the lead installer at ACE and works on the installation team at the Jam Factory and other galleries.

In Conversation: Oakey & Catherine Truman: Sunday Feb 18 at 11:30am - 12:30pm

Oakey will be joined by artist and mentor, Catherine Truman to discuss the adventure that inspired this exhibition and explore the process behind the artworks. There will be time for questions following the conversation.

Performance: Sunday March 3 at 10am -2pm

a 4 hour walking meditation within the gallery space.

Oakey will be tuning in to her solo experience in the bush - recreating the silent walking meditation she did within the circle she lived in for the four days and nights.

The audience are free to come and go as they please for the duration of the performance.