ESTHER STEWART
Zip, Step, Site
21 August – 18 September 2021

STATION | MELBOURNE

Zip, Step, Site presents three significant works composed of many interconnected parts that together establish a collective language. This material assemblage of sorts explores notions of the multitude as an accumulative mode of production as opposed to singular. Stewart’s modular configurations propose a layering of histories and ideas not dissimilar to that which occurs in architectural spaces through the passing of time. Her multifaceted paintings contemplate what it means to build upon rather than build again.

In what she describes as a process of ‘architectural sampling’, Stewart draws from her own memory and collected imagery of building facades, architectural plans, domestic interiors, textile patterns, awnings and 1970/80s ceramic tile advertisements. She further abstracts her source material through the repetitious application of painted coloured grids and patterns that dissect her architectural compositions and generate non-linear narratives of space and time.

Zip, Step, Site presents fictional yet familiar architectural landscapes that gesture to the ever-present possibility of change and transformation within contemporary society.

1

Esther Stewart
Zip, Step, Site 2021
installation view

2

Esther Stewart
Zip, Step, Site 2021
installation view

5

Esther Stewart
Zip, Step, Site 2021
installation view

6a

Esther Stewart
Zip, Step, Site 2021
installation view

7

Esther Stewart
Zip, Step, Site 2021
installation view

Module1

Esther Stewart
Module 1 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frames
overall: 221.0 x 303.0 cm, framed

Module1_Restrict Flexibility

Esther Stewart
Restrict flexibility 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frames
221.0 x 151.5 cm, framed

Module1_The Evolving House

Esther Stewart
The evolving house 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
221.0 x 151.5 cm, framed

Module2

Esther Stewart
Module 2 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frames
overall: 222.0 x 163.0 cm, framed

Module2_1

Esther Stewart
Taken as a whole 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
111.0 x 81.5 cm, framed

Module2_3

Esther Stewart
The moral of the fable 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
111.0 x 81.5 cm, framed

Module2_2

Esther Stewart
Out of step 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
111.0 x 81.5 cm, framed

Module2_4

Esther Stewart
Refoundation 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
111.0 x 81.5 cm, framed

Module 3

Esther Stewart
Module 3 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frames
overall: 221.0 x 363.0 cm, framed

Module3_3

Esther Stewart
Freely from one mode to another 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
181.5 x 150.5 cm, framed

Module3_4

Esther Stewart
The era has come to an end 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
181.5 x 150.5 cm, framed

Module5_6

Esther Stewart
Installed in a hallway 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
90.5 x 70.5 cm, framed

Module3_5

Esther Stewart
Serve it on a platter 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
90.5 x 70.5 cm, framed

Module3_2

Esther Stewart
Turned out 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
90.5 x 70.5 cm, framed

Module3_1

Esther Stewart
The tolerance demanded 2021
acrylic on aluminium, aluminium frame
90.5 x 70.5 cm, framed