Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

Frances Keevil

ANNA GLYNN | AMUSEMENT | Curated by Dr. Natalie McDonagh

ANNA GLYNN | AMUSEMENT | Curated by Dr. Natalie McDonagh

Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - Sunday, June 1, 2025

Frances Keevil at Studio W - 6 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo Wed - Sun, 11 - 5

“Amusement - a tantalising glimpse into the art and mind of Anna Glynn. The invitation here is to look. To look closely. Look very closely, for there is a sleight of hand at play here. Do not let your eye or mind be deceived by pleasing, playful appearances. These are deeply serious works drawing on immaculate intellectual, historical and environmental research. Glynn is an artist willingly, and very ably, taking an unflinching look at European ways of seeing and thinking about Australia since colonisation. Standing in front of Glynn’s works in this exhibition you may find yourself having an Alice-Through-the-Looking-Glass experience, entering a strange world, complete with giant chess board. It may be unnerving at times but you will be rewarded in ways impossible to predict.” Dr Natalie McDonagh Curator ARTIST STATEMENT "In these works, I embrace the Australian landscape as a stage, a scene for reflection and for the reimagination of historical narratives. This is a world of fantasia, a place on the cusp of reality and imagination featuring strange natural history tableaux. In essence this is a fantasy leading to reflection and to the reawakening of our sense of wonder with our surroundings and the environment - a visual entry point into an incongruous early European vision of Australia." EXHIBITION LAUNCH SATURDAY 17 MAY 4 – 6 PM CURATOR & ARTIST IN CONVERSATION SATURDAY 24 MAY 3 PM RSVP: FRANCES KEEVIL 0411 821 550 / FRANCES@FRANCESKEEVIL.COM.AU

Download catalogue (pdf)

Extinction Game - Norfolk Island Kaka

2020 Pencil and watercolour on Stonehenge 250gsm paper 95 x 62cm unframed / 120 x 80cm framed 'Extinction Game - Norfolk Island Kaka’ reimagines a historical portrait of an extinct Norfolk Island Kaka, surviving in captivity until 1851. The parakeet perches, a losing player. The black and white chess board expresses the ‘game’ of survival.

Extinction Coat of Arms

2020 Pencil, watercolour and acrylic on Stonehenge 250gsm paper 210 x 127cm / 220.5 x 137cm framed 'Extinction Coat of Arms' creates a new national symbol. Glynn references and reimagines Australian historical images. All the Australian fauna depicted in this work, are extinct. The design reinterprets our coat of arms. An intense red for the kangaroo and emu flanking the national plant, golden wattle.

Extinction Game – Red-Crowned Parakeet

2020 Pencil and watercolour on Stonehenge 250gsm paper 95 x 62cm unframed / 120 x 80cm framed 'Extinction Game - Red-Crowned Parakeet’ reimagines a historical portrait of an extinct Australian bird. This parrot was endemic to Lord Howe and is extinct since 1870. The black and white chess board may refer to a game, to burnt and unburnt, to race, to colonial floorcloths, to finance (the French escheker), to ‘checkered’ alternations of good and bad.

Stubbs Kongouro 1770 in ballgown surveying anonymous Castle Hill landscape

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 40 x 60 cm / 66 x 85 cm framed Referencing ‘Government agricultural establishment Castle Hill, c. 1806’. The Castle Hill landscape has been massively cleared and altered. The hybrid kangaroo is taken from the first depiction of an Australian animal in Western Art, ‘Kongouro from New Holland’ by George Stubbs. The gown is from Ann Marsden in the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

Colonial Hybrid Reimagined from J.W. Lewin - Male & female red kangaroo in a Liverpool Plains landscape 1819

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 51 x 66 cm / 75 x 87 cm framed In this hybrid painting, Glynn inserts unexpected elements and combinations – historical mashups to invite the viewer to experience what was new! Referencing ‘Male and female red kangaroo in a Liverpool Plains landscape’ ca. 1819 attributed to J.W. Lewin. The gown is a day dress worn by Julia Johnston from the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Sydney.

Colonial Hybrid Reimagined from Joseph Lycett - View of the Female Orphan School, near Parramatta, 1824

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 44 x 57 cm / 75 x 87 cm framed Referencing Joseph Lycett’s work, ‘View of the Female Orphan School, near Parramatta, 1824’. This is one of the very few surviving public buildings of its size dating from the early colonial period and is now part of Western Sydney University. The hybrid kangaroo creature is symbolically bearing witness to complex historical stories. Mitchell Library, State Library NSW

Antipodean Wonderland Tableaux Cockatoo of Port Jackson

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 66 x 102 cm / 91 x 125 cm framed This reimagined landscape painting references many images by colonial artists such as Raper and Lewin. Original artworks referenced include those in the Natural History Museum in London.

Superimposition, Colonial Selfie, I’m Extant, They’re Extinct

2020 Unique Photomontage on 310gsm cotton rag 80 x 51 cm / 102 x 72 cm framed ‘Superimposition, Colonial Selfie, I’m Extant, They’re Extinct’ is composed of two layers: an original photographic self-portrait and beneath this diaphanous image is an image of Glynn’s watercolour self-portrait. Her body is infilled with her reimagined renditions of Australian colonial fauna paintings. All the native animals depicted are extinct.

Antipodean Wonderland Tableaux Stubbs Dingo

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 51 x 66 cm / 75 x 87 cm framed A fantastical reimagining referencing George Stubbs Dingo Kongouro from New Holland (1768–71) Joseph Banks sent a dingo pelt to London from the colonies and commissioned Stubbs to paint this new creature. Stubbs apparently had the skin sewn together and inflated it as his reference for the final painting.

Extinction Game - Eastern Hare Wallaby

2020 acrylic on canvas 123 x 153 cm 'Extinction Game - Eastern Hare Wallaby' responds to devastation and renewal in Glynn’s local fire-ravaged landscape. Influenced by colonial images, the extinct Eastern Hare Wallaby sits, a losing player upon a black and white chess board. The last specimen of the Eastern Hare Wallaby was ‘collected’ in 1889.

Antipodean Waltz

2018 3D printed heads, 3 silk dresses with graphite drawing, reimagined from 1822 Ball Gown, collection of Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney. Encouraging reflection on the post-industrial revolution colonists, meeting the hunter gatherer society of the indigenous Australians. With these hybrid kangaroo figures, the interpretation of events by both sides is represented. Inspired by Indigenous rock art from the time of colonization, and scientific colonial drawings of corroborees, hunting and fishing. Glynn brings these two views together in this work.

Stubbs Dingo Swallows Ponies

2020 watercolour and pencil on Arches paper 65 x 102cm / 93 x 120cm framed In this reimagined hybrid landscape, Glynn references 'Portrait of a Large Dog' (Dingo), commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks and painted from an inflated pelt by the acclaimed British painter, George Stubbs. An inaccurate Australian native fauna silhouette swallows a menagerie of loosely stylized ponies by Stubbs to create a romantic antipodean anomaly.

Colonial Hybrid Portrait: Lewin Kangaroo in extant colonial dress Small Parakeet by Thomas Watling 1792

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 56 x 46 cm / 78 x 67 cm framed This hybrid portrait is inspired by the painting 'Two kangaroos on the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales', Attributed to John Lewin, from the collection of the National Library of Australia. The historic colonial gown is from the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences / Powerhouse.

Colonial Hybrid Portrait: Lewin Kangaroo in Wedding Dress with Parrot

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 56 x 46 cm / 78 x 67 cm framed This hybrid portrait is inspired by the painting ‘Kangaroos’ Attributed to John Lewin, unsigned, 1800-1806 From the Royal College of Surgeons, London. The Harvard Wedding dress, is from the collection: Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Sydney.

Colonial Hybrid: Raper and Parrot

2017 Ink, watercolour & pencil on Arches paper 31 x 23 cm / 43 x 37 cm framed This hybrid portrait clad in a colonial wedding dress from the Armidale region, is inspired by a 1789 painting by George Raper from the First Fleet Collection, Natural History Museum, London. Imagine arriving to a land full of almost impossible and unimaginable flora and fauna!

1994 Oil on canvas 173 x 133cm to edge of raw canvas, in 2 pieces Painted at Ramsholt, Suffolk, UK in the studio of Arthur Boyd. During her time at Ramsholt Glynn noticed many pheasants in the landscape. (The birds are bred and released for recreational hunting) The pheasants are portrayed beneath the sky with a gathering storm. A portend for their approaching martyrdom.

The Foreigner - Peacocks and Sunflowers

1994 Oil on canvas 79 x 99 cm Painted at Paretaio, Tuscany, Italy in the studio of Arthur Boyd. An ostentation of peacocks is gathered on the rolling Tuscan hills. A yellow sunflower which represents Glynn, is unsuccessfully attempting to blend into this Italian landscape – the foreigner.

1994 Oil on canvas 30 x 30 cm / 36 x 36 cm framed Painted at Ramsholt, Suffolk, UK in the studio of Arthur Boyd. During Glynn’s time at Ramsholt she noticed many pheasants in the landscape. (The birds are bred and released for recreational hunting) The pheasant is portrayed as a martyr in the tradition of catholic iconography.

Pheasant Heaven

1994 Oil on canvas 79 x 99 cm Painted at Ramsholt, Suffolk, UK in the studio of Arthur Boyd. During Glynn’s time at Ramsholt she noticed many pheasants in the landscape. (The birds are bred and released for recreational hunting). This bevy of pheasants are portrayed as martyrs on their way to heaven. Moving towards the bright celestial sky in the distance.

Eurotipodes Excerpt 1

2018 Photomontage on 310gsm cotton rag No. 1 in edition of 7 64 x 100 cm / 66 x 102 cm framed Glynn’s Eurotipodes includes upended imagery from the sketchbook of British landscape artist John Glover. Eurotipodes is a word that Glynn created in response to the European idea of Australia being ‘down under’ in the antipodes.

Eurotipodes Black Swan Perusal

2023 Photomontage on 310gsm cotton rag No. 1 in edition of 7 64 x 100 cm / 66 x 103 cm framed In this multilayered work Governor Phillip’s house sits adrift in the sea. A tiny emu and kangaroo stand on the front steps, awaiting their invitation to grace the future In this multilayered work, Governor Phillip’s house (now demolished) sits adrift in the sea. A tiny emu and kangaroo stand on the front steps, awaiting their invitation to grace the future Australian coat of arms. A turquoise blue cow and pheasant hang suspended in the sky. A Eurotipodean dreamland.

Eurotipodes - Colonial Capsize

2022 Photomontage on 310gsm cotton rag No. 1 in edition of 5 plus 2 artist’s proofs 38 x 50cm / 57 x 64cm framed In ‘Eurotipodes - Colonial Capsize’ a semitransparent horse hangs upside down, merged with a kangaroo in a red colonial landscape. The diaphanous layered landscape reimagines colonial paintings from the Mitchell Library, referencing time, ecological and cultural change. Two iconic creatures are joined. In this work Glynn is reflecting on what is an ‘Australian’ landscape?

Eurotipodes Awaiting – Kangaroo & Sofa

2023 Archival photomontage on cotton rag paper No. 2 in edition of 7 plus 2 artist’s proofs 100 x 84cm / 103 x 87cm framed This work includes references to ‘Sydney Harbour Looking West’, 1848, by Jacob Janssen. From archives and public collections Glynn digitally captured colonial paintings, furniture, sculptures, flora and fauna. Combining these images with contemporary nature photography, Glynn creates multilayered imagery. A world of fantasia, a place on the cusp of reality and imagination.

2025 Wildlife Camera, Motion Sensor, Infrared Inverted Pigment photographic print on archival 310gsm cotton rag No. 1 in edition of 5 18.57 x 36cm Working at night with her motion-detecting, trail camera, Glynn records the behaviour and activities of crepuscular and nocturnal animals. In ‘Wildlife’, an inverted infra-red image, she places herself into the shared rainforest landscape, another curious playful creature!

2021 Moving image/video single channel MP4 No. 1 in edition of 7 05:19 minutes Created in Glynn’s rainforest home tucked under the steep cliffs of the Illawarra escarpment. The 2020/21 disasters: drought, fires, evacuations, floods and the pandemic created an opportunity in her isolation to embrace the cycle and rhythms of nature and spend extensive time in the forest observing and collecting field recordings. She witnessed the seductive, frenetic mating dance of the lyrebirds to create a multilayered diaphanous video.

...love kindness...walk humbly...

2020 Moving image/video single channel MP4 No. 3 in edition of 7 04:00 minutes Born out of Glynn’s response to the local catastrophic Black Summer, bushfires. In her studio surrounded by smoke she gave consideration to what was important to pack for evacuation. After the initial fires subsided, she began to record the blackened landscape, walking carefully through smouldering bush. In time rain fell and the charcoal trunks and ashen ground sprouted fresh new growth.

2019 Moving image/video single channel MP4 No. 1 in edition of 7 07:00 minutes Created atop an extinct volcano in response to the Mt Kaputar Snail and Slug Threatened Ecological Community. Hyper-coloured vignettes pay homage to the most notable creature, a giant pink slug, the only element in the moving image work left in its natural colour. In 2019 massive bushfires roared across the mountain, decimating the habitat; great fears were held for the ecological community. However, during later rains numerous pink slugs were recorded.

Lost Species - A Folly, Pied Butcherbird in Mourning

2022 Moving image/video single channel MP4 No. 1 in edition of 7 03:52 minutes Glynn has animated and fractured her large-scale drawing ‘Extinction Coat of Arms’ depicting a reimagined Australian Coat of Arms into a kaleidoscopic folly, referencing colonial wallpapers. All of the Australian fauna portrayed are extinct. A layered soundscape includes field recording of the Pied Butcherbird remixed with ‘'Solecism' by composer Scott Buckley.

Antipodean Nocturne | Extinction

2018 Moving image/video single channel MP4 No. 1 in edition of 7 07:00 minutes Through a dramatic sfumato effect, this work explores our relationship with the Australian landscape. Filmed from a rainforest eyrie overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the video and audio were recorded on a hot, humid and stormy summer night… thunder, lightning, the love calls of cicadas… elemental forces at play as the planet warms… a potent display of nature. Over the duration of the work, text is gradually introduced to a cataclysmic storm - a list of Australian animals extinct since European arrival in 1788.

Anna Glynn : Amusement

A publication created to accompany Anna Glynn’s solo exhibition, Amusement. AVAILABLE TO BUY ONLINE AT: https://www.ecstaticarmour.au/shop/p/anna-glynn-amusement AND AT STUDIO W THROUGHOUT THE EXHIBITION