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| Bonnie Hanlon, 'Just my imagination (Running away with me)'. 2013. Embroidered Handkerchiefs. |
JW - This
months show's curitorally sit together very well. In gallery 1 we have
Pia Johnson's 'Finding Yourself at Home Alone' and in gallery 2 your show 'Hard
on for Homewares'. Both shows are exploring very personal spaces and
ideas. Can you tell us why some of the things you are putting out there
in your show are making you a little nervous?
BH -
There are two works in the show that I am a little nervous about, one work is
pictured on the invitation- so I guess that's taken care of in a way, but I am
still a little anxious about how that work will be received and the questions I
may have to answer about it.
I
have written a blog post about where I was coming from with that work, a sort
of 'didn't mean to be creepy, just wanted you to know I was thinking of you'
type message, because the work is intended sweetly and I don't want it to be
misconstrued.
The
other work I'm getting anxious about showing is a figurative drawing titled
"So I don't have to dream alone". This one is a two-fold concern for
me because it is quite revealing- It's a nude self portrait on the one hand and
on the other it is quite revealing emotionally. I think the latter is what is
making me the most nervous, because it's not just my drawing that's being
shown, it's a really personal and intimate scene that depicts my longing and my
loneliness- and it has been a real challenge to allow myself to appear so
vulnerable publicly.
But aside from the social anxiety about being
seen as a lonely-little-weirdo, I'm really looking forward to the show!
JW -
We are all looking forward to your show (and not just because we get to see you
naked).
Do you usually come from such a personal place with
your work?
BH -
Ha! Don't get too excited, it's probably not what you think.
No,
I haven't made work this personal before,I usually keep a pretty tight lid on
revealing anything that makes me feel exposed or vulnerable.But it has
been quite liberating- and a little daunting, not that every piece for the show
reveals some great secret I've been holding, but unlike previous works that
center around what I think, these works reveal more about how I think and how I
feel.
 |
| Bonnie Hanlon, 'Seventeen Keys to find my way Home. 2013. Watercolour on paper. 76cm x 56 cm. |
It's
been a nice change to drop the bravado and allow my work to be more emotional,
more nostalgic and sentimental. I've felt a real shift in my practice working
towards this show, the work feels gentler somehow, calmer. Who knows, maybe
that comes from opening up and making more personal work.
JW - Being
an interview about a show that opens really soon, I probably should
ask; What is your practice and what is the medium of the work your
showing?
BH -
My practice is drawing based, although I am often seduced by a variety of
media, and working in an art supply store really feeds that temptation. So I do
a little painting and printmaking as well, but mostly I work in pencil and
watercolour on paper.
 |
| Bonnie Hanlon, 'Unlocked #1'. 2013. Watercolour on wooden panel. 20 x 20cm |
In
the show I will have some watercolour works on wooden panels, I'm pretty
excited to have found a way to do this and there will be a lot of Silverpoint
drawings too.
I
should probably explain what Silverpoint is for those who don't know.
Silverpoint is drawing using a pencil like stylus with a silver nib that rubs
off against the ground (traditionally a rabbit skin gesso) leaving behind a
feint blueish grey mark that oxidises to a sepia tone over time.
Silverpoint's
my new favourite thing, and now that I've found it I'll never let it go! It's a
means of drawing that really suits the way I work and allows me to build up
really fine, delicate marks, which is important to me because I like that
really finicky, concentrated attention to detail. The ruler drawings for Span
were a good example of the way I like to work, and I intend to revisit those
works now that I've found silverpoint.
 |
| Bonnie Hanlon, 'Measurement across time II'. 2012. Watercolour and pencil on paper. 40 x 45cm. |
There
is also a work that is made from embroidered handkerchiefs (pictured on the
invite). I agonised over including this work, because I'd always kept my
craft-hobbies quite separate from my drawing practice, but in this case I felt
it was important to bring this element to the show, because I find there's a
real tenderness in needlecraft- and again, the process really suits that
methodical, finicky way I like to work!
JW -
It's interesting that you mention there is an obsessive undertone to your
concepts as well as your techniques. I'm very interested to see how this
is going to come together in your show.
So
tell us about the exhibition title. Where the hell did 'Hard On for
Homewares' come from?
BH -
Ha!
I like to think of it as a knack for focusing my energies... But obsessive my
be more apt.
I like word play,
and short punchy terms, so Hard-on for Homewares seemed like an efficient term
to use to describe my desire and excitement for Trinkets, furnishings and
anything I can use to feather my nest. The term has pretty strong sexual
overtones, but so does the nesting process, it all comes down to biological
drives I suppose, so it seemed a fitting title for all of the themes in play in
the show.
JW - What do
you hope people experience when they check out your show?
BH - I just really hope that people who come
to see the show can share an intimate space with the work, that they can sense
a kind of longing, a comfort and a nostalgia that they can relate to.
 |
| Bonnie Hanlon, 'Tiny Keys unlock big dreams' (series) Silverpoint on Wooden Pannel. 12 x 10cm |
Bonnie Hanlon's Exhibition, 'Hard-on for Homewares' at Stockroom runs from the 13th July until the 4th of August.
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