Adelaide visual artist Tom Borgas has been awarded the NEWART Commission, which means he will be creating a sculptural work at this year’s Splendour in the Grass.
The $10,000 prize allows an artist to install a work at the three-day music festival in Byron Bay.
Borgas, whose work has appeared at exhibitions around Adelaide for many years, has a geometric sculptural practice. Past works will tie into the Splendour project, titled Postdigital Ruins. For Adelaideans unable to jet off to Byron, this means we may get a chance to see the work in progress.
“I’m looking to exhibit some of the documentation and some of the artefacts, as well, after Splendour,” Borgas tells Rip It Up. “I’m even thinking of exhibiting stuff in the lead-up to it; there’ll be elements that point towards it. It’s what I think about all the time; it’s what I’ve been working towards.”
Borgas explains that, after working as a production assistant at last year’s Splendour, he has been completely consumed by thoughts of the work.
“I’ve actually been working on it almost since last year, even though it wasn’t confirmed or anything. I just got really excited by all the possibilities and got into it.
“It got to the point where it just had to happen,” he says, laughing. “I find it a really helpful way to work, being speculative about where things could head. I push really hard towards it, and things start to fall into place. Work carries itself when there’s a confidence about it.”
Previously, Adelaide artist James Dodd presented work as part of Splendour in the Grass’s visual arts program. Dodd and Borgas recently exhibited together at the Adelaide Town Hall for Built constructs, a collection curated by Adelaide City Council Emerging Curator Polly Dance.
Postdigital Ruins
“It’s pretty huge and it’s a pretty big step for me,” says Borgas. “It extends my work in a pretty full-on way, which is really exciting and scary.”
So what will Postdigital Ruins entail? The work will be part performance and part sculpture, with an ‘excavation’ of the work onside at Splendour.
In the words of the man himself: Postdigital Ruins is “an archaeological excavation exposing the remnants of a vast, subterranean, low-res virtual landscape. Referencing the triangulated structures used by software to describe three-dimensional space, the fluorescent pink tessellated topography is constructed from several hundred interlocking plaster tiles and exists as a physical articulation of the wireless, invisible digital network that services our deep seated desire to connect with others”.
Similar to a past project (pictured above) and echoing elements of his Postdigital Artefacts, Postdigital Ruins will draw on this previous practice, but extend it on a mammoth scale.
Black Triangulation (seated) (2015) double-wall polypropylene, adhesive fabric tape (approx 110 x 120 x 70 cm). Photo courtesy of the artist and Hill Smith Gallery.
Fluorescent pink tessellated triangular tiled sculptures will be unearthed by his team of art-aeologists, who will become living scuptures in their own right. The team of diggers will be in uniform, and, when wandering the Splendour site, become extensions of the artwork, bringing the piece to the people. Borgas is hoping to engage a theatre director for more instruction on how to bring this side of the project to life.
Simply, this isn’t a work that Borgas can build in Adelaide and plonk In The Grass.
“I’ve come to realise that most of the stuff that I make, installing it is actually a really integral part of the work. This is kind of an extension of that: it’ll only come into being when it’s on site, a bit before the festival,” says Borgas. “Once the festival starts and the punters arrive, that’s when we’ll dig it up and reveal the extent of the structure.”
If you want to follow Borgas’ progress, he’s one to watch on Instagram (@tomborgas). He uses the platform to document his work, and also speaks to his audience through the channel when he’s between exhibitions.
It also creates a little feedback loop, that gives Borgas an insight into the mood and attitudes of his audience. These responses are then absorbed into the work, in the same way a musician adapts a setlist or performance style depending on the feel of a room.
“I think the way things photograph is really important to the work. A lot of people only experience my work through a screen, so it’s important that it has a presence.”
Upcoming exhibitions
Provisional Objects
Jam Factory, Gallery 2
Opens Thursday, April 30
jamfactory.com.au
Abstract | Narrative
Adelaide Central School of Art
Opens Tuesday, June 16
Group Exhibition: New works from Tony Lloyd, Simon Finn and Tom Borgas
Hill Smith Gallery
Opens September 5
hillsmithgallery.com.au
Image
Riparian Artefacts
(2014) double-wall polypropylene, synthetic turf, rope, concrete, dental plaster, spray paint, adhesive vinyl, shelves, total floor area 6x12m
Installation at Project Space CACSA
Photo courtesy of the artist and Hill Smith Gallery
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