Robyn Walton
Robyn Walton's sculptural practice appropriates encountered mundane material as part of an ongoing concern with themes of utility and labour, specifically in relation to reproductive and maintenance work. Re-presenting or subverting functional everyday objects can blur the boundaries between art object and utilitarian object, thereby focusing attention upon the undervalued tasks they represent.
Recent exhibitions include The Medium is the Message at Gus Fisher Gallery, Bells and Whistles at Play_Station Space, I Lean You My Support at RM gallery, and Net Work: this is not a group show at West Space, Melbourne.
Walton holds a Master of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, and is based in Tāmaki Makaurau.
To read Robyn Walton’s essay published in ‘Iteration 10, Portraits’ download here
get a grip iteration - wall work: 'cognitive load’, copper, silicon bronze screws. Floor work: part 2 of 'pin down’, Chux cloth, blue 3843 embroidery thread
‘snoopy’, copper, silicon bronze screws
Left to Right: ‘drapery', 2 parts: copper, silicon bronze screws, generic chux cloth, embroidery thread. 'tick tock’, ‘mixer’, 'bale out’; copper, silicon bronze screws
Left to Right: ‘swinger’, copper. 'mental leap', copper, silicon bronze screws, 2023. ‘#7’ copper
Aotearoa Art Fair 2022. Fluffer (EZI KLEEN), Found objects, brass, steel. 260 (h) x 90 (w) x 260mm (d) + Wall mounting bracket, 2021
'like a prayer (mat)', Chux cloth, apple green embroidery thread
Fluffer (Swift whip), Found objects, (wooden handle) - 340 (h) x 130 (w) x 90 (d), 2021
'On the edge of the black hole (self portrait)', 2500 x 1000 x 1100mm dimensions variable, 2021. "Or as Ukeles puts it in her Manifesto “clean your desk, wash the dishes, clean the floor, wash your clothes, wash your toes, change the baby’s diaper, finish the report, correct the typos, mend the fence, keep the customer happy, throw out the stinking garbage, watch out don’t put things in your nose, what shall I wear, I have no sox, pay your bills, don’t litter, save string, wash your hair, change the sheets, go to the store, I’m out of perfume, say it again—he doesn’t understand, seal it again—it leaks, go to work, this art is dusty, clear the table, call him again, flush the toilet, stay young.” " Robyn Walton, Iteration 10, Portraits'
'Paws', Found object and textiles, 420 x 300mm, for FINGER PRICKS & CURSES group exhibition for TENT " Fossicking for second-hand treasures allows for a purely sensory response, circumventing those aggravatingly presumptuous algorithms. I have always appreciated how found objects open the way to a collaboration with an object’s former existence. Pricks & Curses has also enabled a collaboration with my fellow Mothers - I have been making in lockdown with the company of an entire community."
Mater Mater at Silo 6
suck it & see, found objects, rubber tube 2022
suck it & see, found objects, rubber tube 2022
Cool Whip, rubber tube, stainless steel, found objects, 2018/2022
stay in your lane, (various), plastic hose, steel 2022
Maintenance work, stainless steel, found objects, 2018/2022
news
The inaugural edition of TENT will feature live exhibitions across the country and also online, and will take place from Thursday 4 – Sunday 7 November across New Zealand.