VCA ART 2021

Keely Varmalis

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drawing & Printmaking)

Extending upon a legacy of domestic craft and with an inherited adoration of textiles, my sculptural practice aims to evoke sensations of simple magic. Through tactile memory and a methodology of assemblage, I navigate the slow act of stitching, drawing together copper, fabric and disparate items. Moved by the loneliness of rejected domestic objects, I play upon fragility and metamorphosis to rehouse and recontextualise pieces within my own emotionally charged dream narratives. In reaction to feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by the mass produced and the mass discarded, I encourage through my sculptures a temporality slowed through repetitive acts imbued with the trace of human love.

Keely Varmalis, Ophelia, Plaster, chicken wire, copper, acrylic, silk and ink on found bathtub and rug, 2021.
Keely Varmalis, Collapse, Stained copper and wire on ironing board, 2021. Documentation by Panisa Ongwat.
Keely Varmalis, To Break This Fall, Stained copper, steel, concrete, glass, aluminium, velvet, rayon, rope, chain and coach lights, 2021. Documentation by ALEC.
Keely Varmalis, The Sound of Leaves Falling (detail), Stained copper and fabric, 2021.
Keely Varmalis, Forgotten Gates, Bronze, 2021.
Keely Varmalis, Dream Walk, Stained copper, chicken wire, plaster, clay, crystal dyes, acrylic, 2020.
Keely Varmalis, Karma Umbrella , Silk, organza, velvet, felt wool tops, acrylic and twigs on umbrella, 2020.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nations, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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