Noela Hjorth (5 December 1940 – 17 February 2016) was an Australian artist and builder of houses, known as ''living sculptures''. Her work reveals a fascination with the female form and its spiritual manifestations, exploring the
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
of
ancient civilisation
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Civi ...
, Western approaches to nature enshrined in
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
and
Druid traditions, and the
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
of Eastern religion.
Biography
Noela Hjorth,
printmaker, painter and sculptor, was born and studied in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, and trained at
Chelsea Art School in London. Along with key printmakers such as
Noel Counihan, she left a legacy as an important printmaker who helped to establish the print workshops at the
Meat Market
A meat market is, traditionally, a marketplace where meat is sold, often by a butcher. It is a specialized wet market. The term is sometimes used to refer to a meat retail store or butcher's shop, in particular in North America. During the mid ...
in the 1970s and 80s.
While her earlier works were characterised by female iconography, her later work deployed discarded materials into ecological social sculptures. Her later work had a strong environmental message about the role of ecology and obsolescence and took the form of social habitual structures she called ''living sculptures''.
In Australia, her works can be found
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
, Canberra, in all State and many regional galleries. She has had 30 one-person exhibitions throughout Australia and overseas and has been included in numerous international group exhibitions including the
Whitechapel Gallery
The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...
and
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
(both in London, UK).
Noela Hjorth has been cited in numerous reviews and within significant collective works on art and artists such as Pat Gilmour's Lasting Impressions (Australian National Gallery, 1988), Alan McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art, (Hutchinson Group, 1992). Two monographs on her life and work have been published: the first by Vicki Pauli and
Judith Rodriguez
Judith Catherine Rodriguez (13 February 1936 — 22 November 2018) was an Australian poet. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award.
Life
Rodriguez was born Judith Catherine Green in Perth and grew up in Brisbane. She was educate ...
, Noela Hjorth (Granrott Press, 1984); and the second, a substantial book of 191 pages illustrated largely in colour, Noela Hjorth: Journey of a Fire Goddess (Craftsman House, 1989). During her career, the role of books as art played an ongoing role in her practice and she made numerous limited edition print art books such as Flights of Fantasy and Trees of Wisdom.
From the 1980s, her work took on a strong focus in combining art with anthropology. She traveled frequently to many countries such as
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to document rituals and ceremonies. In Australia, she was more interested in connecting with indigenous people than competing in the white art world. She frequently went to
Arnhem Land and
Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded liv ...
to watch ceremonies and visit cave paintings. She had an insatiable appetite for cross-cultural collaboration.
The 1990s saw her shift her focus away from conventional art contexts and she began to exhibit in cathedrals. 1994 was her most prolific year in that decade with exhibitions including retrospective works and recent sculptures at St Peter's Cathedral in conjunction with the
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
, with subsequent exhibitions at the Greenaway Art Gallery, Kent Town, South Australia and the Melbourne Contemporary Art Gallery, Victoria. These exhibitions were not without controversy, especially as much of Hjorth's repurposed iconography such as seedpods looked unmistakably like vaginas. As Adelaide art critic Samela Harris noted, 'Adelaide's Establishment was scandalised. "Nudes in unholy row", huffed the headlines. "Women's genitalia in a church", hissed indignant city matrons.'
From the turn of the 21st century, Hjorth’s work took on a more majestic dimension in terms of scale. Having spent much of the 1990s sculpting with recycled and obsolescent materials like foundry moulds for sand casting, Hjorth brought her passions—art, anthropology (material cultures) and architecture—together by building houses she called ‘living sculptures’. Deploying entirely recycled materials, these living sculptures were often mistaken by experts as heritage. Her last ‘living sculpture’, completed in 2011 in Semaphore, was dedicated to the living memory of her son, chess champion and mathematician, the late Professor
Greg Hjorth
Greg Hjorth (14 June 1963 – 13 January 2011) was an Australian Professor of Mathematics, chess International Master (1984) and joint (with Ian Rogers) Commonwealth Champion in 1983. He worked in the field of mathematical logic.
Chess care ...
. The house won a local government Heritage Award in Urban Design and Character for a New Development.
[The Advertiser, 17 December 2011.]
Family and personal life
In Melbourne 1962, Noela married Bob Hjorth and their son
Greg Hjorth
Greg Hjorth (14 June 1963 – 13 January 2011) was an Australian Professor of Mathematics, chess International Master (1984) and joint (with Ian Rogers) Commonwealth Champion in 1983. He worked in the field of mathematical logic.
Chess care ...
was born in 1963. After moving to London, their daughter Larissa was born in 1971. After her first marriage ended, Noela met and married
John Olsen
John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...
and moved to Clarendon, South Australia. Noela stayed on at Clarendon after her second marriage ended. She then reconnected with Graham Webb, who had been an early boyfriend, and spent over 20 years together (Graham died in November 2015). They lived in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, South Australia.
Select works
* ''Mother and Son'', 1960, Woodcut, 25 x 15 cm.
* ''Marooned People'', 1967, Oil on board, 100 x 76 cm.
* ''Image 1'', 1978, Lithograph, 155 x 105 cm.
* ''The Barong and Fire Signs'', 1985, Pen and ink on paper, 81 x 64 cm.
* ''Spiral Dancing and Mythological Figures'', 1986, Mixed media on paper, 173 x 123 cm.
* ''Black and White Mandala'', 1987, Collage and assemblage on canvas, 155 x 266 cm.
* ''The Return of Sophia – Kali's Alter''- St Peters Cathedral, 1994, Mixed media installation.
* ''Sophia and the 7 Serpents'' – The Church of St John the Evangelist, 1998, Mixed media installation.
* ''Sophia's Underground Carnival'' – Brougham Place Uniting Church, 2000, Mixed media installation.
Select exhibitions
solo:
* Hawthorn City Art Gallery, Melbourne, AUS (1980)
* Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga, AUS (1981)
group:
* ''Victorian Printmaking Travelling Exhibition'' (All States of Australia 1981)
* Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK.
*''Contemporary South Australian Painting'', Art Gallery of SA, AUS (1988)
* Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK (1992).
Select collections
National Gallery of AustraliaArt Gallery of New South WalesArt Gallery of South AustraliaNational Gallery of VictoriaArt Gallery of Western AustraliaQueensland Art GalleryMuseum and Art Gallery of the Northern TerritoryQueen Victoria Museum and Art GalleryTasmanian Museum and Art GalleryWagga Wagga City GalleryAraluen Art Centre*
Swan Hill Regional Gallery
Christensen Foundation
References
Further reading
* Pauli, Vicki & Rodriguez, Judith (1984)
''Noela Hjorth''(Monograph). Granrott Press, Australia
* Gilmour, Pat (1988). ''Lasting Impressions''. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
* Hjorth, Noela (1989) ''Noela Hjorth
Journey of a Fire Goddess' (Monograph). Craftsman House, Australia.
* McCullough, Alan (Revised and updated by Susan McCullough 1994). ''The Encyclopedia of Australian Art''. Allen & Unwin, Australia
* Hjorth, Noela (2005). ''Sophia's Sacred Cycle''. Granrott Press, Australia
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjorth, Noela
1940 births
Australian women painters
20th-century Australian painters
Australian printmakers
2016 deaths
Australian women printmakers
Australian women sculptors
20th-century Australian sculptors
21st-century Australian painters
21st-century Australian sculptors
Artists from Melbourne
Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts
20th-century printmakers
20th-century Australian women artists
21st-century Australian women artists
20th-century women painters
21st-century women painters
20th-century women sculptors
21st-century women sculptors