‘KINDLING’ Series (3 examples of work provided)

As a response to the Australian bushfires of 2019 - 2020, Kindling grew from a need to witness and respond to the aftermath. Using her existing metal practice, Hempstead incorporates the materials collected from various sites including charcoal, bark and ash to create this body of work.

Victoria Hempstead
Old Man Banksia I (Banksia Serrata), 2020
mild steel, water (evaporated), salt, resin
120cm H x 120cm W

Victoria Hempstead
Blue Gum (Eucalyptus Globulus), 2020
mild steel, water (evaporated), salt, resin
120cm H x 120cm W

Victoria Hempstead
Blood Marmalade, 2020
mild steel, water (evaporated), salt, resin
140cm H x 50cm W

‘HUDDLE’ Series (2 examples of work provided)

Inspired by the human characteristics of tree trunk’s huddled remains - as encountered during walks through devastated bushland - the works reference two individuals embracing and the vulnerability that arises from this moment. The sculptures purposefully retain the fragility of the material to cite the powers of creation and destruction as two magnetically linked forces.

‘BENEATH THE MAP’ Series (2 examples of work provided)

Hempstead’s paper-based practice is a unique form of navigation, “it’s a search for myself, my place, my connection to not only my surrounding environment, but the times we live in.” Informally termed as memory sketches, this form of re-mapping allows Hempstead to explore what lies beneath the limitation of the map and western cartography to instead focus on the undulations of terrain, the warmth and texture of the ground.

Victoria Hempstead
Beneath the Map IV, 2020 (PERFORMANCE)
single-channel high definition video (mark-making on archival cotton rag paper performance)
shot & edited by Bernadette Murray

Victoria Hempstead
Beneath the Map IV, 2020 (FINAL WORK)
mark-making on archival cotton rag paper
400cm x 150cm | installation dimensions variable

‘ETERNAL GAZE’ (1 example of work provided)

It is said that humans are able to watch three things endlessly; fire burning, water flowing and the movement of people. Whether or not this is true, it is undeniable that everyone has been caught at one point or time in this gaze. Eternal Gaze overlays the visual elements of water with the bright tones of fire, creating a hypnotic abstract video piece. The movement of passers-by completes the final aspect of the three hypnotic elements.

Victoria Hempstead & Bernadette Murray
Eternal Gaze, 2020
single-channel video
12m x 8cm | installed at 80 Collins St Melbourne until 2023

‘LANDSCAPE STUDY’ Series (2 examples of work provided)

Utilising the standard rectangular shape of a western map, each paper piece is folded and shaped to connect two previously non-related points. A further exploration into the ongoing BENEATH THE MAP body of work.