The Glass Asylum
20 September - 7 October 2006

The Glass Asylum - essay by Steven Asquith

Jeremy Kibel’s formal training was that of a traditional artisan. An acknowledged master imparting his or her knowledge and skill onto the apprentice through help with the construction of indeed the work and also with the formation of ideas. Kibel completed his apprenticeship under two of Australia’s leading contemporary artists Jenny Watson and Robert Jacks, AO.

Jeremy Kibel’s haunting and disquieting iconography trembles the soul of the Australian landscape to its barren and desolate core. The need to visually define our landscape dates back in this country to early colonial days from the early settlers and botanists such as Charles Frazer, documenting the then new and curious continent. A primeval urge to delineate the landscape and create iconography that indeed defines our relationship to a nation and our perception of ourselves belongs to the history of humanity.

From the neon lit urban landscapes that precariously clasp the shoreline of Australian continent to the desolate barren wasteland that lies within, indeed our landscape has changed since our early settling days. Such a vast and diverse terrain and contemporary vernacular cannot be encapsulated visually, physiologically or emotionally with ease.

A duality with in the work must be acknowledged to fully understand the impact of the imagery created by this artist. This duality exists between the subject and the materiality. The use of spray paint can be intrinsically linked to urban mark making culture that has its origins in New York City in the late seventies. Murals and ‘burners’ are sprayed along the train tracks and deep alleys of the inner city due to primal need of peoples to create and celebrate creativity. Just as cave paintings in Arnhem Land decorating the structures that are inhabited are a time honoured way of telling stories that define a culture and a people. Kibel also employs Fresco surfaces which history dates back beyond the renaissance. This use of fresco also creates an interesting dichotomy between the ‘new’ and that which belongs to history.

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