Artbank Staff Profile: Sigourney Jacks

Name: Sigourney Jacks               

Job Title: Registrar

What year did you join the Artbank team: 2021

Describe your role and what you enjoy about working for Artbank: I have recently joined the Artbank team in Melbourne as Registrar. My role encapsulates the management, care and coordination of the movement of work in the Artbank collection.

I really enjoy working in the collection store and the diversity of each day. It is also great to work for an organisation that supports contemporary Australian artists and shares these through the art leasing program to people who may never come across these works in their leisure time.

                      

Select an Artwork:   David McDiarmid 'Disco Kwilt,' 1981

Short explanation of your artwork selection:

I couldn’t go past the only David McDiarmid in Artbank’s Collection, 'Disco Kwilt,' from 1981. McDiarmid’s work throughout his career brought attention to important social movements and activism including: gay liberation, feminist politics and the AIDS crisis. Incorporating the kitsch, dark humour and unconventional materials he created engaging works that are powerful and at times heart-breaking.

'Disco Kwilt,' was made while McDiarmid was living in New York. In this work he wanted to capture the feeling of being in underground nightclubs – the energy, the movement. By using holographic adhesive tape the work mimics the lights in the club and creates an interaction with the viewer. When standing or walking past this work with each step there is a synergy of movement created through your body captured in the mirror of the holographic tape, simulating almost a dance between you and the artwork.