Bobby Beausoleil, Nik Kamvissis, Margaret Stones, Alan Townsend
Curator: Lisa Campbell-Smith
How vital is context? How much do we need to know about why a work of art exists and the circumstances of its creation? Is it possible to divest a work of context?
The works gathered for ‘Tender Exotics’ arrived contextualised. Can anyone look at the singular pencil creations of Bobby Beausoleil and not think of his complex history? Even if you do attempt to ignore the infamous narrative, do you ever really escape it?
Whatever the reason for his lengthy incarceration, Beausoleil has found a method and is making what could be described as intensely honest, perhaps even ‘pure’ art, as his seclusion would seem to have freed him from much of the taint of the art world. His work displays an untrained meticulousness that—well, looks strange. It is not ugly, it is far from unskilled; it is very worked and precise in fact; but there is a palpable quality that feels peculiar. It is all too easy to ascribe this to Beausoleil’s own narrative, but this is a red herring. His work’s singular feel is the result of someone consciously developing an artistic vernacular unique to themselves within the confines of an institution. It defies simply being ‘art made by an inmate’, nor does it sit comfortably in the dubious arena of outsider art. It is also remarkable: there is an undeniable level of personal endeavour, persistence and adaptation displayed in the artist’s ability to make the best of arbitrary limitation. Beausoleil can only have access to certain materials to make his images: he has learnt to stretch these materials, pushing their capabilities to an extreme. Making art would seem to be Beausoleil’s sole