Lure
Seren Wagstaff & Joseph Botica
1 November – 7 December 2024
Photo by Morgan Wagstaff. Courtesy of the artists.
Lure is the latest collaborative body of work by Seren Wagstaff and Joseph Botica. The exhibition speaks from shared experiences growing up in coastal towns in regional Queensland, with particular reference to memories surrounding fishing.
Fishing, a staple community activity in both Wagstaff and Botica’s hometowns, could be considered a practice of “bogan spirituality”. The sheer potentiality of casting a line into the vast depths of the ocean is something that is often described as “more than just a sport”. In an attempt to maintain connection to both their regional communities and their contemporary urban queer communities, the artists explore ways in which fishing could bridge wide cultural rifts, allowing unlikely connections. Through sculpture, image, performance and video installation, the exhibition showcases and experiments with the outcomes of public facing performances through a queer regional perspective.
In this body of work, Wagstaff and Botica investigate how different social groups exhibit culture and their associated artefacts. Lure uses regional aesthetics and infrastructure to draw strong comparisons between self-care and pleasure-based activities seen in both queer communities and remote areas of South East Queensland.
Photo by Morgan Wagstaff. Joseph Botica & Seren Wagstaff. Courtesy of the artists.
Joseph Botica is an artist operating between Meanjin and Gadigal land, employing a sculptural, installation-based and fashion design practice. Botica dissects the “object” and explores its symbolic potential, particularly where it intersects with human anatomy. Through aesthetic alchemy, they modify material, image and the body towards an expansion of being.
@josephcbotica / josephbotica.com
Seren Wagstaff is a Meanjin based visual artist who pursues public facing collaborations that test geographic and social themes. Primarily working in sculpture, installation and performance, Wagstaff’s works are typically presented as artefacts or evidence of a public experiment. Wagstaff takes influence from regional infrastructures to construct nuanced representations of public spaces, events and sub-cultures. Her work has previously been exhibited internationally and nationally.
Lure
Seren Wagstaff & Joseph Botica
1 November – 7 December
Outer Space
Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am–5pm
420 Brunswick Street,
Judith Wright Arts Centre,
Fortitude Valley, QLD
Opening night
6pm–9pm
Friday 1 November 2024
Free entry, all welcome
Exhibition Text
Olivia J. Bennett is an arts writer and cultural critic born and based in Brisbane. Her writing has appeared in Australian and international publications, such as Dazed, Breach Magazine, Performance Review, to Be Magazine, Artlink, Running Dog and more. She has also participated in Gertrude Contemporary’s Emerging Writers Program and Melbourne International Film Festival’s Critic Campus. Olivia holds a Bachelor of Art History and Curating from Monash University and completed her Honours thesis at Melbourne University on the films of Sensory Ethnography Lab.
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LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Joseph Botica & Seren Wagstaff
2024
cotton rag print
420 × 594mm (A2), unframed
edition of 5
Featured in the Outer Space exhibition ‘Lure’ by Joseph Botica and Seren Wagstaff (Nov 1–Dec 7, 2024), this editioned print is a self-portrait of the collaborative pair. Sealed together inside a vac-bag, the artists’ become synchronised in breath and body, incapsulating the interpersonal intimacy in queer relationships.
Gallery
This exhibition has support from Jordan at MBE West End, and opening support from Altitude 701 & Felons Brewing.