The work of Shaye Dương, Chelsea Farquhar, Dani Reynolds, Cecilia Tizard and Ash Tower spans photography, sculpture, installation, printmaking and performance, and was developed while taking part in ACE’S 2022 Studio Program.

ACE Artistic Director Patrice Sharkey says the program, which offers a financially supported professional development opportunity for South Australian artists, is the only one of its kind in South Australia.

“The artists have spent the past year together researching, experimenting, connecting and working closely with guest curator Megan Robson, each creating an ambitious new body of work for this exhibition,” she says.

Curator Megan Robson described the studio space as a site of exploration and experimentation: “[It’s] a space in which ideas come into being, propositions are tested, and mistakes are not only encouraged, but are essential to its very ethos.”

An exploration of world records, popular culture, performance and fame within the context of the Guinness World Records was the starting point for Reynolds’ work, and at the Studios: 2022 exhibition opening they attempted to break the record for “World’s Widest Wig” – a title actor Drew Barrymore has held since donning a 2.23m-wide wig on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in 2017.

Reynolds walked guests through the humorously thorough world record determination process, which required a certified surveyor to be present to adjudicate the attempt.

A giant wig, handmade by the artist, was lowered onto Reynolds’ head, with the landing of the 15kg piece prompting the crowd to erupt into applause. The outcome of the attempt is yet to be announced.

An installation view of Chelsea Farquhar’s work at Studios: 2022, with Chelsea Farquhar’s sculptures in the foreground. Photo: Sam Roberts

The exhibition showcases the diversity of work being developed by the studio program artists.

Farquhar’s works possess a lot of movement and intrigue, with materials such as fabric and bronze used to create sculptures including life-size depictions of a contortionist and trapeze artist.

Image-based artist Tizard strived to create a visual archive of the physical changes that occurred in the studio space around her. Her images and installation, Working table, are a window in time to both the development of the studio and the artist.

Tower’s interest in the relationship between nuclear technology and funerary architecture has resulted in an installation that references a museum display and consists of a wooden decorative reliquary surrounded by yellow radiation shielding panels.

Ash Tower’s work in Studios: 2022 at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental. Photo: Sam Roberts

Security cameras adorned with glass ornaments can be found throughout the gallery, with the imposing objects forming part of a collection of work by Dương that seeks to question perceived truths about such recognisable objects. She tells InReview she was drawn to the idea of experimenting with perceptions.

An installation view of Shaye Dương’s work in Studios: 2022. Photo: Sam Roberts

“They [CCTV cameras] have a certain kind of ambience, and I feel like a lot of people view them as inherently ominous, but at the same time they are kind of ignored,” Dương says.

“They may subconsciously or consciously influence how we act around them.”

Dương says the opportunities presented by the Studios Program were formative for her and the other participating artists.

“It’s been such an incredible opportunity, making those friendships with other artists – and being able to work in such close proximity to them was such a pleasure.

“Rather than having a studio and working in isolation, it was just great to be able to lean on the other artists for advice or even just a bit of support, and we’ve really formed a close-knit community now.”

Studios: 2022 continues at ACE until December 17.