Catherine O’Donnell in 2021
Another Dawn
14.05. - 12.06.2021
Another Dawn by Catherine O’Donnell presents a series of drawings and small-scale models of mid-century brick housing, drawn curtains and open windows. It is a continuation of Catherine’s enquiry into windows and moments of suspended narratives within these lived-in spaces. Each drawing contains a pitch-black passageway as a psychological entry point for the viewer to imagine or remember personal and shared experiences.
The buildings in this series reference housing in the Inner-Western suburbs of Sydney. This uniform architecture can be found almost everywhere, throughout New South Wales. The drawings imply social and political notions of low-income housing. It explores the complexities of the meaning of home, beyond a simple shelter, through the vernacular. Liz Marshall notes that “the home is a place of socialisation, or alternatively refuge; a signifier of our identity, a vehicle for self-expression and holder of our personal memories.” in her essay on Fibro Facade.
Another Dawn exerts the personal within the impersonal, the imaginary within reality, and a balance of revealing and concealing. As such, the drawings become active reminders of human existence as the fine details of weathered elements signify human life over time.