Opus 67 by Kirsten Johnston / Fangirl by Ellese McLindin

I’ve had a song stuck in my head for days. You know what that’s like – a catchy tune enters your mind and quickly becomes a combination of obsession and torture. Sometimes you don’t even know where you heard it, or when you started to hum the tune out loud. But that’s the thing about music, whether you like it or not, it has the power to shape our world.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 in C minor, Opus 67 is a melodic experience that binds us. Composed in 1808, it has inspired some of the most memorable moments in popular culture. We may not remember when, but we know we’ve heard it before (hint: Saturday Night Fever, Fantasia 2000, and the theme song from Judge Judy).

Like many, Kirsten Johnston is deeply affected by music. Her exhibition Opus 67 features a selection of abstract paintings made in response to the artist’s experience of listening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. It includes four large canvases reflecting each of the composition’s movements: I. Allegro con brio, II. Andante con moto, III. Allegro and IV. Allegro.

This body of work marks an important shift in the artist’s practice. Following a background in classical music, Kirsten came to abstract painting in 2021 through a residency at Post Office Projects. The opportunity included a mentorship with Margaret Worth, instigating Kirsten’s experimentation with scale and form.

These works depict the emotional arcs of each movement through thick swathes of runny, rich, and sometimes translucent paint. Kirsten’s approach to making is deeply personal and driven entirely by instinct. The artist mixes her own colours and intuitively selects the tools for application (usually wallpaper brushes, rollers, or palette knives). This creates a sense of texture, conveyed through sharp edges and cascading layers that ebb and flow from one canvas to another.

Like the symphony itself, each work’s energy is heightened when presented as a whole. The paintings tell a story through moments of tension, release, dissonance, and consonance. They depict temporal emotions felt by the artist whilst listening to one of her favourite compositions. Indeed, there is a tender echo between Beethoven’s powerful melodies and the way Kirsten’s paintings convey the visceral experience of being fully engaged with music. In this way, the work celebrates creative expression and the meaningful connections which manifest when one artist authentically responds to the work of another.

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is no longer in my head. But the experience has left its mark. All artforms inspire creative expression whilst offering moments of connection. The sparks connecting Kirsten and Beethoven are layered with colour, movement, and a contagious energy. Observing, one can’t help but feel part of something…and maybe even hum along.

Steph Cibich

Curator and Arts Writer living and working on Kaurna land.

Kirsten Johnston, (detail), 2022, acrylic on canvas.

Kirsten Johnston, II Andante con moto
(detail), 2022, acrylic on canvas, 200x150cm. — Kirsten Johnston, II Andante con moto (detail), 2022, acrylic on canvas, 200x150cm.

Kirsten Johnston, IV Allegro (detail),
2022, acrylic on canvas, 200x150cm. — Kirsten Johnston, IV Allegro (detail), 2022, acrylic on canvas, 200x150cm.

Ellese McLindin is more than your average fan. Her experience and devotion to popular culture inspires a plethora of creative activity which fuels her artistic practice. Ellese responds to well-known movies and television shows by drawing on familiar characters and places to create her own worlds. Her expanding universe offers playful spin-offs to these original stories and transports the viewer to a realm of colour, fantasy, and fandom.

Fangirl marks Ellese’s first solo exhibition since 2019 and highlights key shifts in the artist’s practice. In a departure from working predominantly with pen and ink, Ellese’s recent approach to making explores the medium and textural qualities of paint and posca pen. Her prolific practice incorporates drawing, painting and sculptural works made from recycled objects. These artworks are created through Ellese’s methodical routine. The process regularly begins by researching characters and ideas with the support of Tutti Arts facilitators. She then paints and prepares the work’s surface – sometimes working on several canvases at a time – before returning the following day to apply layers of detail, line work, shading and circular mark making using posca pen. Such dedication reflects the essence of fan culture and leads to a monumental outpouring of artworks, as illustrated in the exhibition’s display.

Ellese’s fearless use of colour draws from her intuitive approach to experimentation. Using leftover paint palettes as a starting point, she mixes her own hues. Ellese liberally applies this paint in rough and sometimes watery combinations. Recent works illustrate a preference for darker shades of brown, grey and black which are often contrasted against bright posca pen, allowing the work to sing. At times, these darker colours convey a sense of drama or an eerie disposition, which the artist enjoys ‘I do like spooky…just a little bit’. [1]

The semi-abstract works also feature figurative elements that highlight recurring themes and references. Characters are often presented as portraits, whilst places are typically depicted as landscapes. Poses and physical features also reappear. Indeed, our gaze is naturally drawn to each character’s large, dark, circular eyes. Similarities also appear in their stance, as arms are presented at right angles and portrayed in a semi-flattened representation. Buildings and places are often gifted special qualities and illustrate the depth of story and sense of feeling that underpin Ellese’s artworks. Such elements are heightened through the video animation presented in collaboration with artist Mawarini, bringing Ellese’s artworks to life.

Fangirl celebrates Ellese McLindin’s expansive practice and depth of imagination. Indeed, it illustrates that she is not just an observer, but an active participant creating work which directly responds to the influence of popular culture. Her exhibition invites us into this playful world of devotion and offers us shared engagement. How could we be anything but fans?