Kate Just
Venus Was Her Name
14 March - 20 April 2013
Venus Was Her Name brings to Melbourne works Kate Just produced during a recent three month residency and exhibition in Krems, Austria (2011-2012). Just’s interest in Krems was ignited by its close proximity to the town of Willendorf, home of the Palaeolithic female figurine The Venus of Willendorf (25,000 BCE). Continuing her interest in female representation, Just created a series of works exploring the legacy of The Venus in the area and its untapped subjective presence. Just drew on contemporary archaeological theories suggesting The Venus might be a self-portrait, or image of a textile practitioner. She produced a life-like knitted portrait of her own skin, and knitted a large twine sculpture of the word ‘VENUS’ with knitters across Austria, using archaic knitting symbols in place of letters. These works are shown alongside a a series of collages of women formed from images of archaic objects and a table of faux-archaeological relics relating to the artist and The Venus.