Alchemy of the found object
Winner of the City of Melbourne Creative Spaces Grant 2021,Lennon facilitated, curated, and exhibited in Trash Magic, The Alchemy of the Found Object, a group show of 12 artists. The exhibition focused on transforming everyday discarded, found, or single-use items through diverse artistic practices. Each Artist repurposed and reimagined these objects, giving them new life and meaning. The result was a series of 12 abstract, stand-alone windowbox installations displayed in a public subway beneath Flinders Street Station, inviting the public to engage with art in an unexpected urban space.
Title: Build it and they will come (2021)
Materials used. Medical disposable gloves,viewfinder, transformer, and other collected hard rubbish finds found throughout 2020.
About the artwork
Inspired by the elaborate courtship rituals of bowerbirds, who construct intricate nests adorned with blue objects to attract a mate, this work was created during Melbourne’s 2020 lockdowns, when dating rituals shifted online and in-person connection all but disappeared.
For the artist, constructing the piece became a way to assert her presence in an isolating world — a playful yet sincere offering, both to attract another and to affirm herself as the creator, the one arranging, assembling, and hoping to be seen.
This early piece foreshadows Lennon’s ongoing exploration of identity through overlooked objects and the universal need to have our existence mirrored and validated by others. The work invited viewers to peer through the viewfinder, revealing an expansive universe. In doing so, it asked them to reflect on their own place within it.
Catalogue below:
