Turning the circle within
An exhibition conceived for a regional gallery space but staged prior to that as an installation in a capital city raises the question, at least geographically, of where the boundary might lie for region and centre. The answer seems relative to the artist. The first venue for Marie Biggins' exhibition was the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane which gave space, for the first time in its history, to a regional artist. The second venue in Rockhampton provided a chance for the reciprocal-a show from the centre to occur in its full impact in the region. Perhaps the labelling of regional here has to be addressed in terms of alignment to certain issues.
The dome, the central structure of Biggins' installation, has provided an alternative architectural space since Buckminster Fuller's application of it in the '60s and '70s. It is this alternative that artists who could be considered outside a centre in terms of mainstream practice, can offer as an important contribution to that which feeds our perception and to an eventual acceptance of the state of things.
Turning the Circle Within addresses areas of visual and tactile perception. The piece plays on many different levels. Accepted codes are not eliminated: our familiarity with the symbols of procreation, male and female deities and the accepted and evolving religions of East and West provide us with clues for reading the elements in this work. The dome, the gallery space and the space between (the third space of dead trees inside the gallery but outside the dome) continually place the spectator in the situation of the observer. On entering the dome there is a slight feeling of intrusion as one regards the subtle