VCA ART 2020

Arna Meldrum

Master of Contemporary Art

I walk with my dog. I hold a pen to a sketchbook; my walking body dictates 'accidental' scribbles. My mood—often troubled—dictates the marks I draw on top of the body's walking-drawing, while watching YouTube #vanlife, pursuing my dream to live full-time in a van. Collage layers slip in and out of my video, in a dream-like sense. It unfolds as witness to unconscious desires and conflicts, expressed in the fiction I created with my imaginary porn star friend, Miranda. My video, drawing and collage work grapple with the internal conflicts of sexuality, jealousy and doubt. These states are almost-universal, bodily things. A little intellectual understanding is applied to my practice as it continues to unfold in my Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Arna Meldrum, Miranda…yeh, living in Sophie’s van, 1min 53sec single channel video, 2020
Arna Meldrum, Dream Thursday night 8 October 2020, 2min 48sec single channel video, 2020
Arna Meldrum, I’d love to be able to do that too, 1min 42sec single channel video, 2020
Arna Meldrum, the drawing II, 5min 10sec single channel video, 2020
Arna Meldrum, Untitled, Studio desk with studio mess including; water bottle, index cards, studio chair, kitchen with oven and tile splash back, balcony heater and brick wall, video on laptop - Arna Meldrum, I’d love to be able to do that too, 2020, duration 1:42 minutes, drawings on studio desk - Arna Meldrum, Untitled, 2020, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 105 x 148mm. Photo: Brent Edwards, 2020
Arna Meldrum, Untitled, studio desk with studio mess including: water bottle, index cards, studio chair, kitchen with oven and tile splash back, balcony heater and brick wall; video on laptop: I’d love to be able to do that too, 1min 42sec video; drawings on studio desk: Untitled, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 2020. Documentation by Brent Edwards
Arna Meldrum, Untitled, Linoleum floor, stool, dog-chewed antler, couch, couch throw, diary, all drawings - Arna Meldrum, Untitled, 2020, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 105 x 148mm, wall. Photo: Brent Edwards, 2020
Arna Meldrum, Untitled, Linoleum floor, stool, dog-chewed antler, couch, couch throw, diary; all drawings: Untitled, 2020, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, wall, 2020. Documentation by Brent Edwards.
Arna Meldrum, Untitled, French polished draw with holes, dog, linoleum floor, drawings in draw and on floor - Arna Meldrum, Untitled, 2020, pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 105 x 148mm.  2020 Photo: Brent Edwards
Arna Meldrum, Untitled, French polished drawer with holes, dog, linoleum floor, drawings in drawer and on floor: Untitled, 2020, pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 2020. Documentation by Brent Edwards.
Arna Meldrum, [installation image] all drawings - Untitled. Video - Miranda…yeh, living in Sophie’s van. ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 105 x 148mm . single channel video, 1:53 minutes duration, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
Arna Meldrum, installation view, drawings: Untitled; video - Miranda…yeh, living in Sophie’s van, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 1min 53sec single channel video, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker.
Arna Meldrum, [installation image] all drawings - Untitled, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker, Eliza Dyball and Aaron Rees.
Arna Meldrum, installation view, Untitled, ballpoint pen and felt-tip pen on paper, 2020. Documentation by Christo Crocker.
Arna Meldrum, *I’d love to do that too* (video still), 1min 42sec single channel video, 2020
Arna Meldrum, I’d love to do that too (video still), 1min 42sec single channel video, 2020

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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