Mel O’Callaghan: Centre of the Centre

Centre of the Centre, Mel O’Callaghan’s new exhibition, traces the origins of life and its regenerative forces. The catalyst for this new body of work is one small mineral given to the artist by her grandfather, renowned mineralogist Albert Chapman. The mineral contains a small pocket of water, possibly millions of years old, which holds traces of the elemental forces responsible for all life on Earth. Inspired by the geophysical conditions and potentialities held within this primordial liquid, the artist invites the audience into a total experience.

The film, sculptures and performance capture the circulatory motion of breath in response to extreme environments. During a three-week mission in the Pacific, Mel O’Callaghan filmed hydrothermal vents in the depths of the ocean using the submersible Alvin with the support of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Using trance-induction techniques, performers also engage in cyclical breathing, potentially triggering altered states of consciousness including ecstasy. Investigating the elemental template of life on Earth, the exhibition is a celebration of collective strength through resilience.

Accompanying the exhibition Centre of the Centre is a book that features two major new essays by Daria de Beauvais, Senior Curator at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris and leading academic and writer, Professor Edward Scheer. The book also includes an in-depth interview between Kathryn Weir, Director of the Madre Contemporary Art Museum, Naples and anthropologist and writer Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies at Columbia University, along with interviews between the artist and Dr. Daniel J. Fornari, Emeritus Research Scholar in the Geology and Geophysics Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Artspace Executive Director, Alexie Glass-Kantor, in addition to nine original short texts on existing works over the last ten years.

Mel O’Callaghan’s Centre of the Centre exhibition and book is co-commissioned by Artspace, Sydney; The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; and Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers.

Join us at UQ Art Museum during February 2020 for a series of free events programmed for Centre of the Centre. 

Saturday February 22, 2020, 10am
Mel O’Callaghan: Centre of the Centre publication launch
The launch will include a conversation between Mel O’Callaghan, Dr Daniel J. Fornari, Alexie Glass-Kantor, and Peta Rake, as well as a performance of Respire, Respire.

Wednesday February 26, 2020, 6pm
Mel O’Callaghan artist talk and performance

Friday February 28, 2020, 1:30pm
“Fire, Water, Life: Deep-Sea Volcanism and Hydrothermal Processes” with Dr. Daniel J. Fornari
A keynote lecture by Emeritus Research Scholar, Dr. Daniel J. Fornari followed by a panel discussion with Dr Daniel J. Fornari (WHOI), Dr Emma Gagen (UQ), Professor Gregory Webb (UQ), Dr Paul Evans (UQ) and Dr Teresa Ubide Garralda (UQ).

Saturday February 29, 2020, 11am–3:30pm
“Practical theory of altered states of consciousness and The art of breathing” A lecture-workshop by Sabine Rittner
A lecture-workshop by Sabine Rittner in conjunction with Mel O’Callaghan’s exhibition, Centre of the Centre. This workshop will be led by Sabine Rittner, Associate Researcher and Music Psychotherapist, Institute for Medical Psychology, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 6:30pm
Join us at the Sydney publication launch of Mel O’Callaghan: Centre of the Centre held at KRONENBERG MAIS WRIGHT (91 Stanley Street Darlinghurst, NSW 2010) in partnership with Artspace, Sydney
The launch will include a conversation between Mel O’Callaghan, Dr. Daniel J. Fornari and Alexie Glass-Kantor.

Mel O’Callaghan’s Centre of the Centre is co-commissioned by Artspace, Sydney; The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; and Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers. With Commissioning Partners Andrew Cameron AM & Cathy Cameron and Peter Wilson & James Emmett; and Lead Supporter, KRONENBERG MAIS WRIGHT. The development and presentation of Centre of the Centre is supported by the Fondation des Artistes; the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its funding and advisory body; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the US National Science Foundation. Centre of the Centre was curated and developed by Artspace and is touring nationally with Museums & Galleries of NSW.