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Hermano Fan Club
Shaw Hendry and other artists
Transitory Phenomenon In An Obscure Corner
Jessie Lumb
FELT Space, Compton St, Adelaide - Season closed
I knew at once, the first time I saw Hermano Rojo that this was one ukulele playing darling of the authentic music scene that I would have to love. He inspired a surge of excitement and desire 'to be a part of it all' that I hadn't felt since joining the Silverchair newsletter mailing list ten years earlier.
Hermano Rojo - a man, an enigma. The mask is for the mystery, the cape indicates super human talent and the glasses, worn on the outside of his mask, herald his confidence and rejection of trends.
Shaw Hendry has created the alter ego of musician Hermano Rojo self proclaimedly: 'At the vanguard of the New Folk Scene'. Hermano Fan Club first came into being in June 2009 when Hendry created a Facebook group with this name. Since this time Shaw Hendry (also doubling as Chairman of Joyful Vitamin Records and Tapes and Hermano's recent Recording Editor) has been actively promoting and further establishing the character and mythology talents of Hermano Rojo. Hermano's live performances, and Hendry's development of a highly amusing back story for the character which includes such gems as his double degree in power guitar and his feud with the ultra-nationalist Folk Federation over the use of electric ukeleles (obviously Dylan inspired) raises questions about the authenticity and the notion of the 'true artist'. Is it enough to create an interesting, engaging character that looks the part? Is that all you need to be successful in the music industry? Is talent or image more important?
Including images of Hermano by artists other than Hendry, the show includes all the paraphernalia of the successful artist, creating a convincing illusion of Hermano's musical success. Images of Hermano by Hendry himself include the Australasian World Tour Poster, which shows him rocking out on a stage ornately surrounded by blooming roses, reminiscent of the artists blooming stardom. This large, dominant, black portrait image demands attention as soon as you walk through the door, as all celebratory rock posters should. Contrasting with this is the almost saintly photograph of the Hermano serenely standing, playing surrounded by nature, Hermano in the Garden of Eden avec Ukulele, photograph by Diane Longley.
Fan paraphernalia lines the walls: conscientiously crafted Hermano Fan Club Limited Release Official Wall Plaques, Hermano Fan Club Collectable Badges, Hermano World Youth Orchestra Pennants, all of which proudly convey the fan's love for Hermano and mark them as a member of the special, adoring group. I can only imagine that the pleasing simplicity of the fan club logo which features an 'H' within a perfectly formed pink love heart for it to be easily doodled on the s designed for easy doodling on the back of notebooks. Also shown is a record cover, CD, print out of a YouTube clip of him playing live, the official fan club t-shirt and photographs of him playing with his World Youth Orchestra: all that is needed to be a legitimate music sensation.
As both artists and fans Logan MacDonald, Romi Graham, Brigid Noone, and Deidre But-Husaim have lovingly created their own portrayals of Hermano, producing as Hendry termed it: a 'show within the Show'. The love and admiration in these works calls to my mind my teenage devotional celebrity portraits that adorned my bedroom walls but these wall works are (on the other hand) made with much better craftsmanship and talent. However all the works in this exhibition speak not of the hysterical teenage fandom but more of a deep, celebratory veneration.
The Four Ukuleles From Hermano Ukulele Works are definitely feature works of Hermano's, receiving much attention throughout 2009 and 2010 at The Incinerator launch, featured on the cover of the Adelaide City 'Messenger', featured in various promotional imagery for the Visual Arts Honours Graduate Exhibition, Dot Dot Dot and specially selected for the Helpmann Academy 'Graduates Exhibition 2010'. With all this exposure they've acquired an almost iconic status of their own. These brightly engraved instruments beautifully incorporating text (from poems, lyrics and Hermano Fan Club) and patterns, beg to be played. Their designs evoking memories of my adolescent notebook scribblings with messages of love and devotion: Hermano Fan Club brought back to me all the joy of being an avid fan without any of the teenage angst.
Alongside Hermano Fan Club, is Jessie Lumb's exhibition 'Transitory Phenomenon In An Obscure Corner'. Lumb's background is in sculpture and installation and her work has a special focus on small site specific creation. Working with the gallery's unique architecture Lumb's installation responds as well to some of the ideas and motifs presented in Hendry's exhibition.
Lumb's work has a fascinating subtleness to it, forcing the viewer to stop and really look carefully and explore the space anew. Time is needed to appreciate this work and time to be alone with it. At first the small, dark room appears as simply a torch hanging from the ceiling but once the viewer steps closer to the work they see a perfectly shaped love heart appear in the corner of the room. This symbolic shape, which very much speaks to Shaw Hendry's iconography in the next room, is formed by a small torches ray of light projected on the white wall at such an angle that the viewer sees a heart.
Close by, and also formed by the simplicity of a torches light is the making of a refraction of light across the centre of the wall. With closer inspection soft rainbow colours begin to emerge from the stream of light, which from different angles creates a different intensity of colour and the forgings of a beautiful rainbow.
Through the crack between a locked door and its frame a fiery light shines drawing attention to these negative spaces in between, by filling them with warm light. There is a wonderful combination of delight and satisfaction in discovering the elements of this installation. Lumb forces us to consider how we perceive the space we inhabit, if we truly see it or just assume what is there. She asks us to look twice, look closer.
Alex Tuffin
Australasian World Tour Poster
'A light heart lives long (love from a fan lasts forever)', Jessie Lumb, 2010,
torch installation
Shaw Hendry
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