Red Gate Resident January 2009
Shangri-La and the Everyday Object
Australian Artist Tony McDonald has recently returned to Sydney from a month-long stint at the Red Gate Artist Residency program in Beijing. Tony is Head Teacher, Fine Arts at the Sydney Gallery School, Meadowbank TAFE College.
Tony completed over thirty small paintings that constitute a diary of objects used in daily life during his stay at the ‘Shangri-La’ Bei Gao studios. The chosen objects were selected largely by chance, rather than a conscious search for imagery. From money to soap, a piece of coal to a light bulb, these common objects are isolated from their original context and assume a multitude of associated meanings in the grid of forty-five small paintings. This is a record of the artist’s experience, a meditation on what is made in China, the world’s factory, and what sustains and supports daily life.
Tony completed over thirty small paintings that constitute a diary of objects used in daily life during his stay at the ‘Shangri-La’ Bei Gao studios. The chosen objects were selected largely by chance, rather than a conscious search for imagery. From money to soap, a piece of coal to a light bulb, these common objects are isolated from their original context and assume a multitude of associated meanings in the grid of forty-five small paintings. This is a record of the artist’s experience, a meditation on what is made in China, the world’s factory, and what sustains and supports daily life.
