"Weathers of the Mind: An Installation by Judy Holding"
2001-05-25 until 2001-06-12
24 HR Art - Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art
Darwin, NT, AU

Huge dilly bags made out of coloured plastic shopping bags hang from the ceiling, patchwork blankets are laid out on the floor, life-sized shields rest on the wall, wire mesh dogs prowl around the space which is dominated by an imposing tower.  This installation comprising painting sculpture, weaving, assemblage and sound creates a seductive yet chaotic environment in which the interface between culture, nature, weather and mood is explored.

Judy Holding has been visiting the Northern Territory for almost twenty five years and has spent concentrated periods here on artists camps working in the bush in Kakadu. She has made life long connections with Traditional Owners in the area as well as keenly observing the abundance of plant and animal life in the park.  She knows about the weather in the Top End.  In fact it has become an obsession and the main focus of her work. As a phenomenon weather makes for an irresistible study as it crosses and blurs the usually restrictive boundaries of language, age, gender and economics.

Holding has developed a unique set of personal symbols to denote and connote subtle and not so subtle nuances.  She has set out to explore the psychological effects of extreme weather conditions, moving form the more literal renditions of observable phenomena into more metaphysical and emotional responses.

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