Thursday 19 June 2014

2014 Jan Cleveringa
"Belly-ache"
Sculpture/Installation

This Sculptural/Installation work is about Australian Identity in terms of symbolic and textual cultural signifiers within the dominant and growing Hegemonic Anzac culture in Australia.

The Anzac biscuits, coated in resin, are symbolically preserved and locked into history as the biscuit that Australian families sent to the troops in WWI due to their capacity to stay edible over time. Every year the tradition is kept alive by Australians eating, sharing and digesting these biscuits on Anzac day, and other days, reinforcing it as a social, visual and digestible cultural symbol.

The word ‘belly-ache’, is used, because it is derived from soldier slang in WWI meaning a ‘mortal wound in the guts’ (Bruce Moore (2000) The Anzacs and their Words). It is an Australian word that is still used today, though it has lost its original meaning it is still used contemporarily to describe an upset stomach. It is idiosyncratically Aussie.

'Belly-ache' is ascribed to the serving tray which is placed upon Royal Blue velvet as a symbol of the boats landing at the shores of Gallipoli. The biscuits represent both the soldiers sitting in the boat and also as a foodstuff that was sent to the troops later by those people that love/d them. They also act as a symbol today.

This reflective artwork is based in a symbolic reality that is both semiotically and literally digested, shared and refashioned every day in Australian culture.

The artwork represents the crisp, starry-eyed, anxious feelings by soldiers in their boat going on an adventure, fresh and unblemished by the hell that is war, and the future to come. These poor soldiers will get eaten alive.

Tuesday 17 June 2014

2014 Jan Cleveringa
"What On Earth Are We Eating Exhibition"
At The Vanishing Point Gallery, Newtown
Assorted Paintings


Cleveringa’s painting is an act of sharing, digesting, and reproducing a cultural perspective into something that is current, refashioned and new.

He raises issues about the symbols, signs and signifiers involved in the context of Australian identity.

The subjects,words and phrases he uses are from a perceived ‘Aussie culture.’ They create a semiotic awareness used in everyday life. They pose questions about cultural Hegemonies, group polarization, and the ingredients of what an ‘Aussie culture’ might be.

He uncovers change mechanisms, attitudes, world influences, technological change, political leadership, and other shared acts that create or reinforce Aussie culture.

These paintings are about semiotically digesting supposed iconic ‘Aussie Foods’. What makes them Australian? How are they an act of culture, associated with producing, sharing, and digesting them both literally but also their related symbology, signs and signifiers? How do they promote, include, exclude and reinforce Aussie values in terms of Australian identity?

2013 "A Dinkum Anzac Bickie Mate"
Acrylic and Enamel Paint on Marine Plywood
60cm x 80cm x 4.8cm


2013 "A Humdinger Pav Mate"
Acrylic and Enamel Paint on Marine Plywood
60cm x 80cm x 4.8cm



2013 "Vegie Toast and a Cuppa Mate"
Acrylic and Enamel Paint on Marine Plywood
60cm x 80cm x 4.8cm



2013 "A Ripper Steak and Veg Mate"
Acrylic and Enamel Paint on Marine Plywood
60cm x 80cm x 4.8cm