The idea of resistance and reaction are the fundamentals behind the work of artist Miik Green.
Green’s latest exhibition, Beta Blocker, is currently on display at the ArtGeo Cultural Complex.
The exhibition showcases Green's Xylem collection, a series of large-scale paintings on aluminium panels combining unlike materials, sealed within layers of resin.
“Beta blockers are a group of drugs that act on the heart and I felt there was that internal bodily aspect in the show,” he said.
“Some of these works look like the cosmos but are actually really cellular and all have a common clash, like the way inorganic chemicals affect the blood stream.”
Green said the works were an evolution and for an artist, this was the ultimate creative process.
“I can never predict what will happen, things react, resist and battle for primacy – it is always surprise,” he said.
“As an artist it is exciting process when you don’t have a say in what is materialised.
“For me, I’m not interested in the technical side of things but what is at the heart of creativity, rather than copy something faithfully that may already exist in nature.”
To create his works, Green uses supplies more likely found in science labs such as beakers and syringes.
He said while his art was science-influenced, there was also a philosophical element.
“It is about not just focusing on the right or wrong outcome,” he said.
“People get really stuck on this, in Eastern cultures they have a way of letting this coexist that aren’t necessarily resolved. They don’t have to have one outcome over the other.
“In way, you can look at this collection as materials combined in an unlike context or on the other hand, how do we come to a new understanding on a clash of ideas.”
Workshops with Green will be held on Thursday, January 18 at 10am for children aged five to eight, and 2pm for ages nine to 12.
An adult workshop will be held on Friday, January 19 at 10am and a free meet the artist session at 5pm.
Workshops are $10, including all materials, and bookings are essential.
The exhibition runs until January 28 and entry is free.
