Haydens is pleased to present The Cave, The Flood, a new exhibition by visual artist Leslie Eastman, a response to the charged events that have erupted over the last nine months in historic Palestine.
More than ever the latest phase in the occupation of Palestine has exposed vested interests and the limits of Western institutions, creating a flood of enraged civil and artistic protests worldwide. The continental plates between North and South, East and West, progressive and conservative have seemingly been loosened by this cruel conflict that now threatens to push that region of the world to the abyss.
The cave and rock beneath the Dome of the Rock, at Al Aqsa, al Quds/Jerusalem have immense metaphysical and geopolitical significance for the inhabitants of historic Palestine, as does the entire Al Aqsa precinct- the Noble Sanctuary.
The Cave, The Flood is a response to the complex history and meanings of this charged geological and spiritual pivot point, considering it from both religious and political perspectives. So much is clouded in Western reportage. So little of the context is appreciated by Western eyes.
Leslie Eastman is a visual artist based in Melbourne. Over the past twenty-five years he has held numerous solo and collaborative exhibitions nationally, at venues such as ACCA, Linden, Gertrude Contemporary, Experimenta, and internationally.
He works primarily with site-determined ephemeral installations that explore the human sensorium in many ways for the viewer’s completion and contemplation. Through these he aims to prompt larger revelations about the nature of perception itself.
The current practice takes many forms including drawing, video, optics and light, kinetic sculpture and photography often utilising architectural installation in a context specific to site. The notion of the boundary between the interior and the exterior is a recurring motif. The various screens, frames and mirrored surfaces in his work, are used to provoke questions about the apparent demarcation between the real world and the internal world of the viewer.
More than ever the latest phase in the occupation of Palestine has exposed vested interests and the limits of Western institutions, creating a flood of enraged civil and artistic protests worldwide. The continental plates between North and South, East and West, progressive and conservative have seemingly been loosened by this cruel conflict that now threatens to push that region of the world to the abyss.
The cave and rock beneath the Dome of the Rock, at Al Aqsa, al Quds/Jerusalem have immense metaphysical and geopolitical significance for the inhabitants of historic Palestine, as does the entire Al Aqsa precinct- the Noble Sanctuary.
The Cave, The Flood is a response to the complex history and meanings of this charged geological and spiritual pivot point, considering it from both religious and political perspectives. So much is clouded in Western reportage. So little of the context is appreciated by Western eyes.
Leslie Eastman is a visual artist based in Melbourne. Over the past twenty-five years he has held numerous solo and collaborative exhibitions nationally, at venues such as ACCA, Linden, Gertrude Contemporary, Experimenta, and internationally.
He works primarily with site-determined ephemeral installations that explore the human sensorium in many ways for the viewer’s completion and contemplation. Through these he aims to prompt larger revelations about the nature of perception itself.
The current practice takes many forms including drawing, video, optics and light, kinetic sculpture and photography often utilising architectural installation in a context specific to site. The notion of the boundary between the interior and the exterior is a recurring motif. The various screens, frames and mirrored surfaces in his work, are used to provoke questions about the apparent demarcation between the real world and the internal world of the viewer.
