Additional Info
Polar Front (solo exhibition)
Polar Front explores humanity's relationship with the natural environment through intersecting family and world histories. Martyn's inspiration for this new body of work is through film photographs his Father took whilst working as a helicopter pilot, based at Casey Station in Antarctica during the 1980s.
As Antarctica has experienced some of the most rapid warming on Earth it has significantly changed since the photographs were taken. Once stable ice shelves are melting faster, the declining habitat of several Penguin species and the human footprint in the region are increasing. In the past, the photographs were personal memories of a far-off alien land, but are now foreboding and darker.
Martyn uses the principles of bricolage, something constructed from a diverse range of things, to bring together academic research and imagery. Pictorial forms are assimilated into different contexts and are collaged together to encourage the creation of new conversations and symbolic connections. The works in 'Polar Front' combine archival photographs from Antarctica with appropriated early-Colonial Australian painting language, climate modelling and weather forecast patterns, and Romantic painting techniques. The dripping of paint, blurring of figuration, and shifts in texture conceive landscapes that are in flux and out-of-this-world. This slippage attempts to occupy the space between the public consciousness of the changing climate and the individual's impact, all whilst confronting the personal and familial significance of memory-making and keeping.
Martyn’s approach to painting blurs the lines between figuration and abstraction, creating a ‘state of flux’ that fosters a more ambiguous sense of place. By resisting precise representation, he encourages the viewer to shift between different modes of thinking and perception, inviting them to make connections and form their interpretations of the unfolding events and the symbolic meanings embedded within. By leaving these narratives unresolved, Martyn creates space for deeper reflection, expanding the possibilities for interpretation and connection.
Jarrad Martyn (b. 1991) is an Australian artist based in Melbourne. His practice explores humanity’s relationship with the natural environment and how different historical events are framed. Through painting and drawing, Martyn employs the principle of bricolage, something constructed from a diverse range of things, to collate academic research and its associated imagery to create an alternate conversation. Heavily relying on shifts between expected context and associated periods, the contrasting motifs are used to explore the relationship between industry and the environment, species hierarchy, the conservation function of zoos, the evolution of collective memory, and the function of public monuments in modern society.
In Martyn’s work, the handling of paint is characterised by making adjustments to the opacity, texture, and clarity of the paint. The aim of which is to make the surface of the painting interesting and, at times, to hinder the representation of motifs. This, in turn, encourages the audience to look longer, to deduce links between, and decipher their own conclusions as to what events are unfolding, and the symbolic meanings within.
Martyn’s work is in many public and private collections, including the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, City of Perth, City of Joondalup, Shire of Mundaring, and St John of God Hospital Art Collection. Martyn has been selected as a finalist in numerous national art awards, most significantly winning the John Stringer Art Prize (2018), the City of Joondalup Community Invitation Art Award Overall Acquisitive Award (2017) and the Fifty Squared Art Prize (2021) at the Brunswick Street Gallery.
Martyn’s practice also extends into the public sphere, being commissioned for a number of large-scale council and commercial murals. His work can be seen in the Shire of Collie (WA), Rochester (VIC), City of Fremantle (WA), City of Swan (WA), and the Newman Hotel in the Pilbara (WA), among others.