Goolugatup Heathcote art gallery turned into a home for Jessee Lee Johns exhibition
An art gallery was transformed into a home to make people think about what they need to feel comfortable.
Housing, an exhibition by Jessee Lee Johns, is part of Goolugatup Heathcote’s annual site-responsive program Tilt, which has been running for 18 years and commissions WA artists to create new works that reflect the history and heritage of the site.
Johns’ installation reimagines the gallery as a home and invites visitors to explore the boundaries between art, architecture and everyday life.
Visitors will encounter a mailbox, a bed, a shower stall, and other suburban pieces, all staged as sculptures.
They aim to reflect the familiar functions of home and invite people to consider what they really need to feel protected, comfortable and comfortable.
The pieces are made from found materials, including timber and fencing from Goolugatup lands, and contrast with the nearby riverside mansions.
“In Dwelling, I wanted to explore what can happen when the idea of a home is stripped down to its basic elements, when the shelter becomes sculpture,” Johns said.
“This isn’t about building the perfect home, it’s about questioning what we really need to feel safe and comfortable.
“The Tilt commission gave me the chance to respond directly to this place, and I used materials found around Goolugatup to shape something temporary and personal. A house built from parts and ideas.”
The blending of art and architecture is characteristic of Johns’ practice.
The Perth-born artist’s previous projects include a self-proclaimed micronation (the New Bayswater Community), a gallery in a fly-in-the-sky area, and a brickyard that serves as social commentary.
City of Melville senior curator and creative lead Jana Braddock said the exhibition was a thoughtful and quietly subversive response to the space.
“Jessee Lee Johns’s Residence invites viewers to consider the boundaries between shelter, memory, and imagination,” he said.
“Through this year’s commission, Jessee has transformed the gallery into a space that is both familiar and unexpected.”
The Tilt commission has been operating since 2008 and has previously worked with artists such as Curtis Taylor, Emma Buswell, Tom Muller, Abdul-Rahman Abdullah and Anna Louise Richardson.
The residence is open until January 18 at Goolugatup Heathcote, 58 Duncraig Road, Applecross.
