SKIN by Klara Kelvy is an installation and performance sited within the historic BUDA home in Castlemaine. It references an artist's habitat as exemplified by the role BUDA played in the lives and art of the Leviny sisters who lived and created at the celebrated home.
Using performance art and craft techniques, Klara explores how creative instinct plays out in the domestic space and invites a conversation about the value we find in art that draws from a domestic space and the value of a domestic space which influences creativity.
The Arts and Crafts movement was a huge influence on the Leviny women and their creative practice, and this movement reflects many ideas that artists, designers, and makers are again exploring today. The contemporary return to natural materials, the experience of the maker, processes of making, and the aspiration to create beautifully designed objects for homes exemplifies the contemporary influence of this movement. The Leviny sisters' works include many examples that draw direct inspiration from the native flora surrounding the house and reconfigured objects from within their home.
Much of Klara's work comes from her lived experience of a place and listening to personal stories, histories, and anecdotes. For SKIN, Klara has spent time in BUDA and also meeting with creators and artists in Castlemaine and surrounds who, like her, work from home.
"SKIN first came to me as a vision of a woman transforming through crafting her own skin from a coat. And then the work of the Leviny sisters kept re-emerging as having echoes with my own arts practice where I work from home. So, SKIN is a way of threading their story together with mine and others in the region whose home is their creative base, source of inspiration and resource. It has been thrilling to collaborate with staff at Buda who have provided me with inspirational material on Buda, the Leviny family and archival access."
SKIN represents Punctum's inaugural partnership with BUDA Historic Home and Garden and is researched and presented with the support of Mount Alexander Shire Council, Regional Arts Victoria and Capital Venues and Events.
