Don’t Ignore the Periphery press release

On display in Midland Junction Arts Centre’s East Gallery from 1 March, Don’t Ignore the Periphery will feature a selection of monotypes and digital print works from multidisciplinary artist Brad Coleman alongside sculptural objects by artist jeweller Amanda Alderson.

In this collaboration, they explore artmaking as a daily meditative practice, inviting audiences to consider the creative process as a reflective and transformative act.

Alderson’s process is marked by slow, rhythmic forming, an embrace of complexity, and an element of danger, all balanced with a reverence for beauty and scale. Her jewellery, artwork and curatorial projects draw directly on autobiographical adventures and long running experience working in the arts. Her current collections centre on traversing the human condition, borne out of her complex healing journey after becoming sick from a disabling medical injury. For Alderson, the studio is her place of sanctuary and therapy, where creating beautiful objects is a beacon of light in her recovery process, as a daily restorative affirming action.

Juxtaposed with Alderson’s intricate contemporary jewellery and sculptural objects, Coleman’s practice involves anticipation, patience, and experimentation, coupled with the exhilaration of rapid results. His love of storytelling and broad field of interest has led him to generate works in film, photography, animation, sound design, print making, oil painting and installation, but most recently, Coleman’s primary focus has been on his ambitious 1,500 monotype prints project, which started in 2024 from a personal challenge to create on a daily basis.

Compared to Aldersons considered approach in her studio, Coleman works outside in a way that may seem almost frantic, however it is still a meditative process. For both artists experimentation with materials and techniques, involving daily reflection and selective curation, is part of their routine practice. Working alongside each other in life and in their creative output, Alderson and Coleman look to reframe the outer boundaries not as distractions, but as essential elements to be woven back into the creative journey.

SICK AF an exhibition curated by Alderson in the IOTA24 program, also explored similar themes of “…chronic illness and injuries, and the process of healing, through contemporary craft and the arts.” SICK AF, IOTA24. Alderson and Coleman are strong advocates for improved accessibility to the arts. Not only for those who have felt the physical impact of a lifechanging illness, but also for those in regional or remote areas, both audiences and artists.

As part of Don’t Ignore the Periphery, a series of videos will be available online, designed to make the exhibition accessible to those who cannot attend in person, or would like to engage further with the ideas and artworks. Each episode will focus on different groups of artworks from the exhibition, highlighting the importance of slow-art, allowing people to contemplate the works in their own place of comfort. A new episode will be added each week in the lead up to Slow Art Day, celebrating this international day of reflection and engagement.

While their mediums and scale differ, Don’t Ignore the Periphery reveals the harmony that exists between the works. “Many of the works have been created in response to those crafted by the other.” says Coleman, so naturally a commonality exists between them. Together, through vibrant colours and thoughtful compositions, their works engage viewers in a dialogue about materiality, mindfulness, and the act of creation as both a form of meditation, as well as a catalyst for reflection and healing.

For further information and media enquiries please contact Kathleen Bloomfield-Gibbs, MAC Inc. Exhibition Coordinator at 9250 8062 or kbloomfield-gibbs@mundaringartscentre.com.au

@studio_amandaalderson
@BradColemanCreative