For Simone Slee's third solo exhibition with the gallery, rocks and things, happy to help, she continued to investigate the role of things that are happy to help her with the problems of sculpture. Rocks (amongst other things) became Slee's accomplices in the fabrication of new sculptural assemblages and video works; questioning what it is that holds up, and conversely what holds down. All works in the exhibition were developed following a residency undertaken at Berlin Glas e.V., as part of Australian Now-Germany 2017.
Slee makes work that has its origins in sculpture. She produces installations, photographs, videos and sculptural objects that often engage the body and have a performance potential. Her practice investigates concepts of 'abfunction'; a term she coined to describe a generative move away from concepts of function within the production and effect of an artwork. In her practice, this has often led to the surprising and unexpected outcomes with regards to functions and effects of objects or actions. At other times, the effects of absurdity, embarrassment, instability and endurance have been generated through the artwork. Space-the private, public and institutional-provides a field in which these sculptural gestures are often performed.
