“Ur Killin It”
Softly Redefined is an immersive exhibition where the audience find themselves wrapped up in juxtaposing concepts of ‘softness’. From free standing and hung works throughout the gallery, to intricate pieces resting around the walls, the artworks consist of an array of materials disguising the way in which the visual element of softness is often misleading. The collective Soft Spot comprising of 13 RMIT fine art students from various artistic practices is a gathering of people who are intensely passionate about redefining the notion of soft and exploring its strengths through their collaborative exhibition.
For this exhibition Kathy produced a sculptural / installation work titled “Ur Killin It”. The piece was comprised of a large mint coloured vanity which was elaborately decorated and constructed to appear like a wacky surrealist bathroom. Kathy transforms what would normally be quite visceral subjects (like a sink filled with spaghetti) into something playful and bizarre. The space is overflowing and oozing with textures and colours replicating a sense of flesh, the human body and a vessel that cannot be contained. Accompanied with a poem comprised of magnetic letters and pipe-cleaners “Ur Killin It” transforms a space typically dedicated to reflection, self maintenance, and self critique into a critical view on how it feels to come of age, to be seen and to be vulnerable.
(poem on the wall)
Lesser Know, Juvenile,
Stuck in Sticky Flesh
Emerging, I’m Ripe, Relevant
Peel me back
I’m in my Prime
Are you Touched?
I’m Malleable
Make me Valuable
Impressionable
Here to Impress
Surface Level
Tender, Soft,
Weak in Spots
Knead me and Need me
Watch me Develop
Then Ferment
an Acquired Taste,
Expensive, Inaccessible, Complex
I’m Over-Seasoned and Under-Dressed
Maybe its for the Best.