Jelena Telecki:
COMA Gallery

Jelena Telecki’s latest exhibition of paintings, entitled Mirror Practice, takes on “the ‘mirror’ literally – or formally,” as the artist says. “I am painting reflections – doubled-up figures and portraits,” she explains. “For the past year or so I have been thinking about how myths/stories about artists shape the way we understand and experience their artworks; how ‘artist persona’ that was imagined, rehearsed and performed, often carries the main reading of the work.” Telecki is particularly interested in Joseph Beuys, and the “shaman-like” presence and narrative he often articulated. “The work I am working on at the moment references his [1965 performance piece] How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. I am also thinking about Francis Bacon and often circulated images of his studio littered with paint, canvases, brushes and whisky bottles.” Telecki has exhibited in Australia, UK and Japan, and has received several scholarships and grants, including the University of Sydney Postgraduate Award 2008–2009 and a 2010 Australia Council for the Arts grant for the development of new work. In 2014, her work was exhibited in NEW14, curated by Kyla McFarlane at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Melbourne. She is an Artspace studio resident for 2019. Mirror Practice runs at COMA Gallery from May 10 until June 8, 2019.