The embellished image
'Curatorial chauvinism' was the jibe made in relation to The Embellished Image, an exhibition curated by Nick Mitzevich. Artists, academics and other visitors to the exhibition were concerned that the work of the artist, Vera Zulumovski, was trivialised and subordinated to the stronger directives of a curatorial purpose. Many were horrified that the exhibition required the systematic destruction of original work. In short the exhibition polarised the community. But this was an interesting exercise in which a curator, in collaboration with an artist, agreed to focus on one aspect of a body of work, then proceeded to select an effective and dynamic method for presentation. Both curator and artist worked in partnership for this extraordinary undertaking.
Zulumovski is an established printmaker whose black and white linocut images are large, compelling, detailed and complex. The images connect the richness of her Macedonian heritage with her daily experience of the Novocastrian suburban environment. The influence of the ornate characteristics of the Eastern orthodox churches can be seen in works like The Godmother and Favoured Saints Feast. In other works such as Two Vessels – Different Yet The Same, Veiled Woman on a Balance Beam and The Fitting there are self-portraits and studies of family members. All these are interwoven with landscapes, domestic interiors, and/or religious stories and practices. The result is embellished images.
Fourteen images representing the last ten years of Zulumovski's printmaking practice were selected for the exhibition. The process involved the artist printing each image, drawing a regular rectangular grid over the top, then cutting along each line. The curator enlarged each freshly cut rectangle on a photocopier until it fitted an A4 page snugly. Each photocopy was