Renowned Australian artist James Angus will present his very first papier mâché sculptures in the upcoming exhibition Papier Mâché for Beginners. Opening 6:30pm Friday 7 June at Fremantle Art Centre, this is Angus’ first solo show in WA in over a decade and will debut 12 never before seen works.

Born in Perth in 1970, James Angus is a successful, internationally-regarded artist who has had twenty solo exhibitions at galleries in Australia, the United States and France. In 2006 his work was the subject of a major touring exhibition organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. He currently works and resides in Berkley, California.

Perth locals would be familiar with his large-scale sculpture, Grow Your Own, the iconic sculpture which greets pedestrians as they enter Forrest Chase in the CBD. At this time it was commissioned, Grow Your Own was the largest and most expensive piece of public art in WA.

Inspiration for Papier Mâché for Beginners struck Angus seven years ago when his first daughter was born and he made her a mobile from recycled paper. After this, he began to experiment with papier mâché as a dedicated part of his practice.

For this exhibition, Angus has drawn on an enormous inventory of virtual objects circulating the internet. Some of the forms he has created are well known by name but rarely seen, like a heart after bypass surgery, whilst other works are based upon complex geometric models.

Fremantle Art Centre’s Curator Dr Ric Spencer is excited to share the exhibition with WA audiences.

“It’s an incredible honour to premiere James’ new body of work at FAC and doubly so to be showing it in his home town,” he said. “These sculptures extrapolate on forms drawn from the world, which are then abstracted into objects. The tension between the material process and external finish of these works is fascinating.”

Angus looks forward to returning to Fremantle.

“I had a studio across the street from FAC for many years but never had an opportunity to show my work there until now,” he said. “It’s great to be able to close the circle and debut these new sculptures next door to where it all began.”

Papier Mâché for Beginners will be accompanied by a book published by the Surf Street Press.

James Angus will attend the exhibition opening and is available for interview.

Papier Mâché for Beginners: An exhibition of works by James Angus

Opens 6:30pm Friday 7 June | Exhibition runs Saturday 8 June – Sunday 21 July | Free Entry

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Liz Walker
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