A Palace of Dust
_A contemporary Wunderkammer
_A granular exploration of the Universe beyond human time
_A futile attempt to capture all evolution, through its finest grains of matter
Solo exhibition
Saturday 20 August – Saturday 17 September, 2022
Cornerstore Merchants, Castlemaine
Drawing on 15th century Wunderkammer (wonder chambers), this series of found objects, dusts and powders, are collected and presented to consider their origins beyond human time: deep time. The works use poetic language, geometric form, and ephemeral materials to sculpt images of a living Universe, in reverence of interstellar space and deep time.
Wunderkammer originate from The Age of Exploration (1500-1600s), when explorers were discovering new continents, cultures and natural wonders. They embody the era’s thirst for exploration and knowledge, and are the precursor for museums. Traditionally they comprised eclectic collections of naturalia (products of nature), artefacta (the products of man), scientifica (the testaments of man’s ability to dominate nature), exotica (objects from distant lands), and mirabilia (marvels that spark wonder), and were displayed as a compilation of remarkably curious artefacts that reflected their owners prowess of contemporary knowledge of the world.
Inspired by Marino Auriti’s The Encyclopedic Palace of the World, c.1950s (a scaled architectural model proposing a building to house all of the world’s knowledge), A Palace of Dust presents a futile attempt to capture all evolution, through its finest grains of matter.
This exhibition furthers Stanley's ongoing artistic research project A Volume of Dust. Conceived as an evolving body of accessible information and field works, A Volume of Dust examines the relationship we have with our environment through its finest grains of matter. Examining dust in all its forms provides an infinite wellspring to explore our universe through a granular lens; to deepen our understanding of our environment and its evolution over deep time; to explore the non-anthropocentric universe, broaching how we may begin to reframe our relationship with our environment into a sustainable future beyond the Anthropocene.
Corner Store Merchants
341 Barker Street
Castlemaine Vic 3450
Open Tues-Fri 10am-5pm,
Sat 10am-4pm
(Closed Sunday & Monday)
Phone 03 5470 6639
