Heather B. Swann

Nervous

Exhibition
18 Aug – 20 Nov 2016
A woman looking up at the camera while working at a table

Artist Heather B. Swann at work in her studio 2016 © Heather B. Swann

About

Heather B. Swann's Nervous is live performance and art installation, creating a multidisciplinary arts experience of intense emotional states.

A collective comprising the sculptor, a poet, a composer, two instrumental ensembles and two vocalists have spent two years shaping the expanded project in two modalities: as live performance, and as an installation to be displayed at the NGA. Nervous will be inaugurated with two exciting, live presentations, followed by a longer installation phase, with occasional 'pop-up' performances.

The live performance of Nervous will be like nothing you have ever experienced before. Spinning out of the theme of intense and extreme emotional states of being, you will be welcomed into a performative arena that is conceived by the artist as 'the Mental'. The audience, the sculptures, the performance and the musicians will all be on one level. The audience will be seated on chairs or standing, close to the Banksia Men and the other sculptures, with the musicians in the middle of the performance. Swann says, 'The audience will be inside this Mental, inside the brain as it feels and experiences a range of emotions embodied in the sculptures, abstracted by the music, felt by all'. This will be an extraordinary, multidisciplinary performance not to be missed.

Text sourced from: Swann, Heather B., Kirsty Morrison, and Deborah Hart. Nervous. Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 2016.

Related

Exhibition

Mud Men
Ramesh Nithiyendran

Past Exhibition
A ceramic sculpture of a vaguely humanoid figure atop a cement platform

3 Jun 2016 – 26 Feb 2017

Mud men is a new installation by Sydney-based artist Ramesh Nithiyendran featuring five large-scale ceramic sculptures.

Exhibition

William Robinson
A Retrospective

Past Exhibition
Painting of landscape of trees reflecting in a body of water

14 Dec 2001 – 10 Mar 2002

This exhibition was one of the first retrospective exhibition of work by William Robinson, one of Australia's senior contemporary landscape artists.

Exhibition

Seeing Red
The Art and Science of Infra-red Analysis

Past Exhibition
Model layout of exhibitions with hands adjusting the location of works of art

17 Nov 2001 – 10 Feb 2002

This exhibition focused on infra-red reflectography and allowed children to see the many layers of artworks that are uncovered with infra-red light.

Exhibition

Silently Stirring

Past Exhibition
Two squirrels on a branch, one on all fours and another in an upright position with paws held up to mouth

21 Mar 2009 – 8 Jun 2009

Silently stirring explores the themes of movement, change and transformation through prints, drawings, photography and sculpture of animals.

Exhibition

Diane Arbus
American Portraits

Past Exhibition
A black and white photo of harried Christmas shoppers looking down at the photographer

3 Jun 2016 – 30 Oct 2016

The photographs of Diane Arbus (1923–1971) are powerful allegories of postwar America.

Exhibition

Transparent Things
Expressions in Glass

Past Exhibition
A large green quenelle shaped glass sculpture with horizontal grooves

7 Dec 2001 – 10 Nov 2002

This exhibition focused on artworks that responded to the transparency of glass and how the unique medium has inspired artists over the centuries.

Exhibition

In the Spotlight
Anton Bruehl photographs 1920s–1950s

Past Exhibition
Picture of a young redheaded offering a bouquet of red roses to an unknown figure whose elderly hands are shown in the frame.

23 Oct 2010 – 6 Feb 2011

Australian-born photographer Anton Bruehl's work ranges across advertising, images of stars of stage, screen and socialites in places such as Vogue.

Exhibition

The Birth of the Modern Poster

Past Exhibition
Print of a green goblin holding a bottle of alcohol upon a black background. Yellow text underneath reads Maurin Quina

10 Feb – 13 May 2007

The Birth of the Modern Poster examined poster art and its evolution from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Exhibition

Joy Hester and Friends

Past Exhibition
Painting of two figures embracing

1 Sep – 28 Oct 2001

This exhibition brought Joy Hester's remarkable contribution to Australian Art to the fore.

Exhibition

3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial: Defying Empire

Past Exhibition
A painting of many spears

26 May – 10 Sep 2017

The 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial brings together the works of 30 contemporary First Nations artists from across the country.