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A grid of 40 tombstone-shaped plaques, each with a unique texture and color ranging from gray and silver to rust and brown, arranged in five rows on a light gray background.

Susan Jacobs: the ants are in the idiom

When

This exhibition has now ended.

Location

Buxton Contemporary Corner Southbank Boulevard & Dodds Street, Southbank. The University of Melbourne, Melbourne

A presentation of newly commissioned work by Australian-born, London-based artist Susan Jacobs.

A meditation on the relationship between language and matter, the exhibition was an expansive sculptural environment that drew the viewer into a web of visual riddles. Jacobs’ poetic approach to materials is underpinned by research into systems of thought that have shaped – and mis-shaped – human knowledge. Playful allusions to science, psychology and mythology jostle with visual puns and word games. Enlivened by the imaginative potential of misinterpretation, the exhibition was a rhizomatic sculptural network that stimulates a process of associative looking in the viewer. 

The artist developed this work over several years, experimenting with materials in her studio to articulate a sculptural language informed by cumulative layers of environmental observation and historical research. The ants are in the idiom could be read as an allegory for a way of working as an artist or, on a more universal level, for the human drive to make meaning of our surroundings.

Curated by Jacqueline Doughty.

Hear from the artist

Gallery

A metal table holds three rows of bricks illuminated by three hanging heat lamps. Under the table are three rectangular containers with handles, and electrical wires are visible in the dimly lit setting.
A modern art gallery with concrete floors and pillars displays various abstract sculptures and mixed-media installations spaced throughout the large, well-lit room.
A contemporary art gallery with sculptures and mixed media installations displayed on tables and stands, under ceiling spotlights in a spacious, industrial-style room with concrete floors and pillars.

Access

Download wall labelsPDF (119 KB)

Supporters

Supporters

The development of this exhibition was supported by an Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship.

All works courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne

  1. Banner Image:

    Susan Jacobs, Hindsight 20/20 2022 (detail), installation view, The Ants are in the Idiom, Buxton Contemporary, The University of Melbourne, 3 July – 6 November 2022 Courtesy of Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photography Christian Capurro