ART Exhibition challenges perceptions of life and death

Exhibition challenges perceptions of life and death

Ballina Arts Centre is currently hosting ‘Ambivalence’, an exhibition of work by Clea van der Grijn that challenges conventional perceptions of memory, death, loss and living. It also explores the ambivalence associated with deprivation and the conflicts that mixed emotions produce.  
Van der Grijn is an artist in residence at The North West Hospice and has been there since 2011. As such, she is in a privileged position, watching life and death at such close proximity permeates into her own practice; her short film ‘Niesje’ reflects this. For her, the process of casting treasured personal objects and displaying them as museum relics creates a narrative and is a tangible way of recording life.
For this exhibition the artist departed from her usual mediums of photography and painting, exploring instead taxidermy, sculpture and film. ‘Ambivalence’ was a journey through the multi layered experiences and fragilities of life, while constantly questioning and re-reflecting on her art and life.  

‘Ambivalence’, by Clea van der Grijn’, runs at Ballina Arts Centre until May 31.