Michael Needham is a Melbourne based visual artist and lecturer in Fine Art at Monash and Australian Catholic Universities. His practice primarily incorporates sculptural installation, drawing and architectural intervention. Among other things, Needham’s work explores myth, belief and residual melancholia in the contemporary psyche. Recent exhibitions have probed a relationship between representation and death through a visual and spatial exploration of body-space and trace.
Diagram for the Internal Image
steel
260 cm diameter
Collection of Montalto Vineyard, Red Hill
Untitled diptych, #1
ink and pencil on cartridge
55 x 55 cm, unframed
Hallowed Object
red-gum, steel, brass
80 x 85 x 220 cm
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
Untitled
concrete, steel, fibre cement, hole
41 x 104 x 220 cm
Untitled
steel, fibre cement, enamel, ink, ash
150 x 75 x 330 cm
Substratum 2
concrete, steel, fibre cement, underground hole, rocks, water, light
55 x 230 x 220 cm
Withdrawn Object
3.00 minute looped animation (stop-motion), edition of 5
[30 second preview]
Postcrypt
steel, concrete, fiberglass, enamel
270 x 110 x 330 cm
Mortgage in Self (I-Mirror/Shrine)
Steel, enamel, erased mirror, plywood
185 x 72 x 6.5 cm
Pallid Daylight
charcoal and acrylic on etching paper
110 x 150 cm
Hauntings of the Imaginary #2
steel, cor-ten steel, marine-ply, treated pine, solar powered light, acrylic, dirt, hole
165 x 60 x 270 cm approx
Untitled (Faceless)
resin, ash, cast iron, wax
42 x 14 x 9cm
Photograph: Craig Burgess
The Queen's Lack
The Queen’s Lack, 2011
graphite on etching paper
91 x 90 cm
Photograph: Craig Burgess
Installation view
"The intolerable other that I crave to destroy so as to better possess it alive"
Installation view
Installation view
"The intolerable other which I crave to destroy so as to better possess it alive"
Installation view
Photograph: Craig Burgess
Artemisia's Womb
Artemisia’s Womb, 2011
concrete, timber, steel, acrylic, fan, mirror, gouache, enamel paint
264 x 106 x 156 cm
Frame of distinction...
Frame of distinction, measure of assimilation #1, 2011
plaster, mirror, enamel paint
31 x 36 cm (from a series of eight)
Photograph: Craig Burgess
installation view
"The intolerable other which I crave to destroy so as to better possess it alive"
Installation view
Photograph: Craig Burgess
Cryptal drain #2
Cryptal drain #2, 2011
digital print
80 x 60 cm
Fissure #2
Fissure #2, 2011
digital print
80 x 60 cm
Cryptal drain #3
Cryptal drain #3, 2011
digital print
80 x 60 cm
Measure of Deflection
Measure of Deflection (toward the other), 2011
plaster, mirror, lead, marble, steel bracket, copper wire, enamel
42 x 18 x 11 cm
Measure of Deflection
Measure of Deflection (toward the other), 2011
plaster, mirror, lead, marble, steel bracket, copper wire, enamel
42 x 18 x 11 cm
Between the Object and the Shadow installation view
installation view
Measure of Deflection
lead, mirror, resin, steel, copper, acid, 35 x 20 x 9 cm
Approaching the Selfsame #1
acrylic, graphite, enamel paint, wood, needles, 76 x 59 x 5 cm
Approaching the Selfsame #2
acrylic, graphite, enamel paint, wood, needles, 76 x 59 x 5 cm
Cerebral Chasm (with spleen)
graphite on cartridge paper, 64.5 x 47 cm (framed)
Cerebral Chasm (splenic artery)
graphite on cartridge paper, 64.5 x 47 cm (framed)
Cerebral Crater (with artery)
graphite on cartridge paper, 64.5 x 47 cm (framed)
Semblance
lead, mirror, 30.5 x 19 x 3 cm
Journey of Articulation (subsection)
lead, resin, steel, enamel, acid, 11.5 x 51 x 11.5 cm
Journey of Articulation
steel, marble, lead, enamel, resin, acid, 79 x 75 x 200 cm
Journey of Articulation (detail)
steel, marble, lead, enamel, resin, acid, 79 x 75 x 200 cm
Michael Needham (b. 1977 Victor Harbour, lives Melbourne/Kyneton)
Education
2010 PhD (Fine Art), Australian Catholic University, Melbourne
2002 BFA (Hons), Monash University, Melbourne
2001 BFA, Monash University, Melbourne
Solo Exhibitions
2013 Gearbox Gallery, Melbourne
2012 Between the Object and the Shadow, Daine Singer, Melbourne >>
2012 Long Shadowed Land, La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre, Bendigo >>
2011 “The intolerable other that I crave to destroy so as to better possess it alive”, Daine Singer, Melbourne >>
2011 Evidence of Absence (with Catherine Bell), Death Be Kind, Melbourne
2011 Curious Duality, Stockroom, Kyneton
2010 Contours of the Self, Light Projects, Melbourne
2010 Incarnate: presence and vestige in contemporary art practice, J-studios, Melbourne
2008 Kiss-X, Kings Artist-Run Initiative, Melbourne
2007 Uncontained (Part 2), Conical Inc. Melbourne
2007 Uncontained (Part 1), Bus, Melbourne
2006 Hallowed Object, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne
2005 Vestiges, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Melbourne
2004 Moments of Being, Kings Artist-Run Initiative, Melbourne
Group Exhibitions
2012 I Have Lived, The British Council, Rome
2012 Dark Matter_Dark Energy, Stockroom Kyneton, curated by Kent Wilson
2012 Backyard Gallery, Ballarat
2012 Visual Horizon, AIRY Gallery, Yamanashi Japan and The Library ArtSpace, Melbourne
2011 Decreation, West Space, Melbourne, curated by Elizabeth Presa
2011 You Are Here, Stockroom, Kyneton
2011 Hidden: A Rookwood Sculpture Walk, Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney
2011 Evidence if Absence, Death be kind, Melbourne
2010 Monumental Effect, Death Be Kind, Melbourne
2010 Sci-fi, ACU National Gallery, Melbourne
2009 Home Sweet Home, ACU National Gallery, Melbourne
2009 Tips for Anxious Gardeners, The Library ArtSpace, Melbourne
2009 Creative Imperatives, Phylis Palmer Gallery, La Trobe University, Bendigo
2008 Carnivale, ACU National Gallery, Melbourne
2008 Being Human, The Library ArtSpace, Melbourne
2008 +1, The Library ArtSpace, Melbourne
2007 McClelland Sculpture Survey, McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin
2007 Cabinet Extraordinaire, ACU National Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Interiors, Brunswick Arts, Melbourne
2006 Private Lives, ACU National Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Crisis, Catharsis and Contemplation, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne
2004 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove, Red Hill
2004 Summer Samples, Intrude Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2003 REFLECTOR 03, Cube 37 and Maroondah Federation Estate, Melbourne
2002 Dining Alone, 45 Downstairs, Flinders Lane, Melbourne
2002 Honours Group Show, Link Space, Monash University, Melbourne
2001 Price Check on Fresh Produce – Monash Graduate Exhibition, Monash University, Melbourne
2001 Celebration of Drawing, Monash Faculty Gallery, Melbourne
Bibliography
2012 ‘Michael Needham: Between the Object and the Shadow’, cat. essay, Daine Singer, Melbourne
2012 Kent Wilson, ‘Michael Needham: Long Shadowed Land’, review, Das Platforms, 10 July 2012 >>
2012 Dianne Dempsey, ‘Show gets into spirit’, news, The Bendigo Minor, June 2012
2011 Dan Rule, ‘Michael Needham: The intolerable other…’ The Age, August 13, 2011
2011 Elizabeth Presa, ‘The Colour in Mourning’ cat. essay, “The intolerable other that I crave to destroy so as to better possess it alive”, Daine Singer, Melbourne
2010 Justine Grace and Rachel Torbett, ‘The Limits of Self’ / ‘Orpheus Looks Back’, in Contours of the Self, exh. cat., Light Projects, 2010
2009 Penny Modra, ‘Tips for Anxious Gardeners’, The Age, Sept, 2009
2008 Stuart Davey, Being Human, exh. cat., Searching for Oscar Publishing, 2008
2007 Edward Colless, ‘Big not always best, after beating around the bush’, The Australian, Dec 2007
2007 Ross Moore, ‘Sink your teeth into McClelland’, The Age, Nov 2007
2007 Robert Lindsay, exh. cat. McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award 2007, Nov 2007.
2007 Matt Moran, ‘Let’s Call it Vision Arts’. The Age, Oct 2007
2006 Rosemary Crumlin, ‘Openings in the Heart’, in exh. cat., Crisis, Catharsis and Contemplation, April 2006
2004 Alistair Urquhart, ‘En Plein Air’, Letter from Melbourne, Feb / March 2004
2004 Megan Backhouse, ‘Perceptive artist takes top honours’, The Age, Feb 2004
2002 Charmaine Camilleri, ‘Eyeballing a steely eye: Diagram for Introspection’, Werribee Banner, Dec 2002.
Awards, Grants, Residencies, Conferences
2013 Arts Victoria Project Grant
2012 Australia Council for the Arts residency, Rome
2012 La Trobe University VAC Artist in Residence, Bendigo
2011 Stockroom Kyneton Prize (Winner)
2011 Materiality, Memory and Cultural Heritage (Conference), Istanbul
2011 Rookwood Necropolis Sculpture Award (Winner)
2010 Faculty of Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in the PhD Thesis (ACU)
2007 McClelland Sculpture Survey (Finalist)
2007 Faculty of Arts & Sciences Research Grant (ACU)
2005-2008 Australian Postgraduate Award (Gov. Scholarship)
2005 Faculty of Arts & Sciences Research Grant (ACU)
2004 Montalto Sculpture Prize (Winner)
Professional
2010- Drawing Lecturer/ Teaching Associate (Sessional – ongoing), Monash University, Melbourne
2006- Visual Arts Lecturer (Sessional – ongoing), Australian Catholic University, Melbourne
2009 Visual Arts Lecturer (Sessional), La Trobe University, Bendigo
2004-2006 Studio/Gallery Technician (Casual), Monash University, Melbourne
