Spelling Out

George Paton Gallery, Melbourne, 2023
Airspace Projects, Sydney, 2024

This exhibition explores the idea that language is magical. If language can cause changes in the world, then it has both the power to heal and the power to wound. Drawing upon the histories of magical poetry and apotropaic spells, Daniel John Pilkington has created a collection of text-based sculptures that explore this ambivalent power.  

‘Circle’, hydrostone, 100cm diameter
‘Cross 1 and 2’, hydrostone, 90 x 90 cm
‘Three of Five’, 2022, Lithograph, 43cm x 39cm 

Documentation: Astrid Mulder, Yiorgo Yiannopoulos, Louise Pilkington