One Hand Cannot Clap Alone: A Collaborative Group Exhibition

“One Hand Cannot Clap Alone” is a gathering, a sharing of burdens, a responsibility, a dedication and a veneration to a continuum of interconnected experiences and overlapping timelines inviting viewers to consider who and what connects our past to our future/s. 

“One Hand Cannot Clap Alone” platforms the works of 18 artists and groups whose artistic practices are attentive to familial networks, ancestral memory and collective making that actively counter the notion of the auteur. Exploring personal legacies, heirlooms, and familial mythologies, the artists in the exhibition through film, textiles, sound, sculpture and jewellery push through mixed feelings of joy, grief, love and hope.

Dissolving boundaries between artist and muse to form a common labour of love, in this interdependent symphony we witness a convergence of past, present, and the dreams of a future yet to arrive. For an artist – like the clapping hand – requires a counterpart, be it a muse, a collaborator, or the collective whispers of generations past. Together they create a resonance far more profound than solitary applause.

Grounding this show is the exploration and provocation of ethics surrounding non-exploitative communal labour and a call towards opacity in the arts when approaching topics of grief and lamentation. Furthermore, a question is presented to the audience: how can we move beyond the footnote when acknowledging those who help us get here. 

Curated by Lachlan Bell with assistance from Courtney Bowd, the show features archival and contemporary work from emerging and established artists connected to Warrane/Sydney and to the University of New South Wales. Throughout the duration of the show, a series of activations and participatory workshops will afford new ways for audiences to expand on the themes of collaboration touched on by works in the show. 

Opening Night: Wednesday 10 April (6pm - 8:30pm)

Exhibition Duration: 11 - 17 April (Open daily, 10am - 5pm)

Participating artists & performers:

• Tamara Elkins @tamaraelkinsartist

• Leila Frijat @thistle.b

• Aksel Haagensen

• Hannah McKellar @hannnahmckellar

• Mei Lin Meyers @mei_yers

• Karlina Mitchell @karlina_mitchell

• Megan Morrall @morrall_jewellery

• Marleena Oudomvilay @marleena_o

• Vella Pihlak

• Olivia Reily @oliviareily

• Kata Szász-Komlós @tiny_handsz

• Megan Tan @ergonomic_cheeseboard

• Monica Trieu @monicatri_ew

• Aarushi Zarthoshtimanesh @aarushizart_1

• Michail Mathioudakis @m.ichail

• Olev Muska

• Perekolmik ‘Family Trio’ (Siiri Iismaa, Kieran Scott, Ella Scott)

• String Club (Astrid Bell, David Suyasa, Kata Szász-Komlós) 

Curators:

• Lachlan Bell @loch.man

• Courtney Bowd @courtneylovechild

Access information: Large font and easy English catalogues, audio descriptions, close to a bus stop on Oxford St with limited parking options on nearby streets. The walk from Oxford St to Comber Street Studios has a downwards elevation of 10m and a small pedestrian footpath. The Loading Dock, open for the Opening Night is wheelchair accessible, however the Front Room, Middle Room and Bathroom are not wheelchair accessible due to steps. Some works featured in the show explore themes including death.