EMILY HUNT

In this exhibition, Hunt presents six handmade marionettes, which incorporate sculpture, ceramics, costume, woodwork, silk painting and printing on fabric. These strange, life-like creatures are modelled on esoteric individuals whose spiritual convictions defied social conventions, including artist Rosaleen Norton (1917–1979), art critic James Smith (1820–1910) and violinist Leila Waddell (1880–1932). The Grotto opens with a series of performances by Hunt and her marionettes, recounting the stories of the lives upon which the puppets are based.

The themes of death and the afterlife are augmented by a psychedelic watercolour drawing based on the design of a ouija board, as well as painted murals, glazed ceramics and etchings portraying mysterious architecture and symbols Hunt found while walking through the streets of Sydney.