Image: James Dodd, Snow Cone (detail), 2018. Photograph courtesy the artist

Creativity and collaboration are at the heart of innovation. Since 2018 UniSA Business has partnered with Guildhouse to present works by contemporary South Australian visual artists to encourage reflection and inspire new ideas.

Transformer

James Dodd

19 October 2020 – 5 March 2021

Artist Statement

‘This exhibition Transformer is part of the Painting Mill project, and has been presented in a number of forms since 2015. It has grown out of my interest in simple machines and how they might be considered within a visual art context. I am particularly keen to imply a sense of things that are built in backyards and sheds, as adapted from pre-existing things that we know; kind of like hacking or re-purposing. In this case I have taken a number of simple cordless drills and built them into a machine that can be used for making paintings. My favourite way of describing this is as a ‘mutant power tool’. The machine is controlled via a joystick, implying a sense of video gaming. In the case of this exhibition we see only the paintings that have been developed via the use of the device. I am curious as to the kinds of responses these works invoke.

The Painting Mill proposes a machine that might be equally interesting as an object, performative process and tool for making artworks.’

To view Transformer, head to the Yungondi Building, UniSA City West Campus.
James Dodd is an artist who works across a wide range of mediums. He is interested in the splashes of creativity that can be found in public spaces, especially suburbia. This has many manifestations, from simple paintings to strange contraptions or sculptures that look like they have been “home-brewed in the garden shed”. Since completing his Masters in Visual Arts at the University of South Australia, Dodd has gone on to create an extensive body of work that he has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions. He challenges traditional notions of genre, fitting comfortably into a traditional gallery setting whilst also exploring new frontiers in visual street culture and the creative use of urban spaces. Painting has always been a core part of his practice. However, his impressive body of work also encompasses built structures, murals and a diverse catalogue of public art. Dodd teaches at the Adelaide Central School of Arts, leads community projects and exhibits regularly across Australia.