Canberra II
1982
Medium
graphite and carbon on paper on canvas
Measurements
161.0 × 226.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Michell Endowment, 1983
© Janenne Eaton
Gallery location
Gallery 11
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
In the early 1980s, while lecturing in painting and studying archaeology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Janenne Eaton commenced a series of large-scale collaged works exploring the unique atmosphere of underground car parks. For Eaton, these enigmatic spaces evoked a sense of unease and the uncanny: the experience of descending the ramp into the facility, combined with the hard angles of the interior and the interplay of artificial light and shadow, all contributed to the unsettling ambiance. The car park’s internal structure serves as the primary design, while the artificial lighting acts as a secondary layer, illuminating the stark geometry of the engineering and creating a sense of architecture layered over architecture.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Canberra, ACT
Inscription
inscribed in black paint on reverse l.l.: EATON / '82
Accession Number
DC1-1983