In the second instalment of our check-in with the five artists selected for Adelaide Contemporary Experimental's year-long residency, we've caught up with Cecilia Tizard and Shaye Dương to ask how their time at ACE has influenced their practice.

Adelaide Contemporary Experimental’s (ACE) annual artist residency returned in 2022, with work from the five artists selected by guest curator Megan Robson now on show at the gallery.

Called Studios: 2022, the exhibition features artists Dani Reynolds, Ash Tower, Chelsea Farquhar, Shaye Dương and Cecilia Tizard, whose artistic practices span photography, sculpture, installation, printmaking, performance and, notably, wig-making.

With the public now able to see the results of the year-long residency program, we’ve caught up with a few of the artists to find out how their time at ACE has shaped their practice and career.

Last week, we heard from Dani, Ash and Chelsea, who spoke about the way ambition can ramp up when you’re given the security of 12 months in a space dedicated to creating.

Read on below for the final instalment of our ACE Studios: 2022 catch up, featuring Cecilia Tizard and Shaye Dương.

Cecilia Tizard

Describe the work you’ve created for the Studios: 2022 exhibition.
My work for Studios: 2022 includes a table of prints, collage and found image. My practice is process driven, highlighting the sacredness of the scale, surface and composition of traditional photography. This installation is an accumulation of multiple processes – long exposure durational prints of my studio space, lumen prints and darkroom prints, as well as digital prints, and found image collage. I like to view this work as assemblages of time. Each of the processes in the work are representative of time in different ways. Ritual, repetition and contemplation plays a huge role in my making. Instead of using traditional photographic chemistry, I’ve used substances that are traditionally used in cleaning and laundry (such as washing soda, starch and bleach) and manipulated the filmic surface (light-sensitive paper and film) to act in a similar way, as if I were using traditional chemistry.

How has your ACE residency influenced the work you’ve created?
Without the studio I simply wouldn’t have the space and resources to develop this body of work. Studio visits from curators and other industry professionals have played a huge part in the residency, as well as working with curator Megan Robson, and Elyse Goldfinch for the catalogue text. The ACE team has been endlessly supportive and dedicated to the studio program through the entire year.

Having a dedicated studio space that is available 24/7 has been transformative to my practice. Coming straight from art school in 2021, the studio access has meant that I can take the time to understand how I work outside of an institution.

How has your practice developed in your time at ACE?
My work is really impacted by the space in which it’s made; the process and its surroundings are always evident in the outcome. My installation for Studios: 2022 is a direct response to the space in which the work is made. To me, the work is quiet and considered, a reflection of my studio and its peripheral happenings. My practice has significantly shifted during my time at ACE. My approach to photographic processes is now informed by collaboration and notions of time, rather than specific, rigid techniques.

Did the other artists in the program influence you during the residency?
Getting to know the other studio artists has been a highlight of the studio residence. Each of our practices are so different, I have a deeper understanding of how other artists work given the same space and opportunities. I feel really lucky to have shared this experience with Ash, Chelsea, Dani and Shaye, and I’m excited by the friendships that we’ve created.

What’s next for you?
I am in the process of finding a new studio and applying for grants for 2023/24. I have plans to collaborate with friends and expand my practice to include more diverse processes. I want to make a slight shift away from photography for a little while, whilst the Studios: 2022 show is on. I plan on making the most of the final few weeks in the ACE studio while I can!

Shaye Dương

Describe the work you’ve created for the Studios: 2022 exhibition.
The body of work I created for Studios: 2022 is a collection of both found and fabricated objects that reference architectures of security, access, and navigation within the built environment. I was thinking about how these ubiquitous objects, such as lights, surveillance cameras, security mirrors and locks, prescribe our movements through urban space, almost in a ritualistic manner. From this, I made parallels between our rituals of movement and rituals within the context of divine authority, to transform these structures into talismans that guide us, rather than police.

How has your ACE residency influenced the work you’ve created?
Having the studio space itself has been so important; it’s allowed me the freedom to make countless mistakes and a huge mess, both things I’m realising (and slowly accepting) seem to be very characteristic of my specific working processes. In my work, I often use processes of casting, which often involves testing materials by means of trial and error. Being given the opportunity to meet with both local and interstate curators has also been incredibly enlightening and opened up new windows of connection that I can potentially pursue in future.

How has your practice developed in your time at ACE?
I began the ACE studio residency straight after finishing my Bachelor of Visual Art, so the transition seemed daunting at first. Though, as I expected, it’s proven to be an invaluable moment in my practice. I’ve made so many meaningful connections with fellow artists and curators, and explored new avenues of making, such as fabrication and more ambitious casting projects. I was also granted the opportunity to exhibit in my first solo show, Telesm, at Firstdraft through their partnership with ACE.

This picture: Sam Roberts

Did the other artists in the program influence you during the residency?
The 2022 ACE cohort is truly a beautiful little community, I feel so privileged to have worked alongside these queens! Being able to lean on the others for ideas and advice when you need a fresh perspective on your work has been so valuable. I’ve loved the sharing of knowledge and techniques as well – thank you to Chelsea Farquhar for introducing me to lead-lighting!!

What’s next for you?
This year has been extremely busy for me, so after a well-needed moment of rest, I hope to keep that momentum going. First up, I’ll be looking for a new studio and then I’ll start to think about what I’d like to explore next in my work. I am always interested in developing skills to work with new materials so I would love to become more equipped with more knowledge surrounding metal fabrication.