‘Coincidences’ – John Wardle Architects

Wednesday 18 January – Friday 17 February 2017

Nishi Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11AM – 3PM

‘Coincidences’ is an exploration of the work of John Wardle Architects (JWA) carried out by a series of prominent architectural photographers and artist, Peter Kennedy. This exhibition interrogates the boundaries between public and private spaces. Can a foyer have the intimacy of a living room? How might a house have the civic atmosphere of a university hall?

Photographers each visited two JWA buildings and took a single image of each site. The images are presented as a pair; thus drawing out points of commonality, ‘coincidences’, across seemingly unconnected architectural contexts.

Contributing photographers include Sharyn Cairns, Erieta Attali, Sam Noonan, Kristoffer Paulsen, Brett Boardman, Earl Carter, Peter Hyatt, Dianna Snape, Peter Bennetts, John Gollings, Shannon McGrath, Trevor Mein, Max Creasy.

JWA is one of Australia’s most significant architectural practices. Using a research-by-design approach, JWA test conventions around spaces, materials, landscapes and details to extend and inform our understanding of the built environment.

This exhibition extends from the recently published monograph ‘This Building Likes Me’ (Thames and Hudson, 2016). The book assembles thirty-six JWA projects as pairs, documented through photographs, drawings and models. The relationships between these pairs are sometimes obvious and sometimes obscure.  Short critical essays and reflections on contemporary architectural processes, preoccupations and projects are also scattered throughout the book.

‘Coincidences’ is presented by Hotel Hotel as part of our ongoing study of public and private realms and the ephemeral borders that connect and divide them.