21 Years in the Making.
Many Melbournians have likely experienced the large scale projections being thrown over architectural buildings throughout the city and its surrounds like garments of patterned silk, although few of us actually know much about the artist behind the work. He is Nick Azidis, Creative and Managing Director behind Projection Teknik, set to have his first exhibition in more than 21 years at Gallery One Three this month.
Azidis grew up in Melbourne and discovered a fascination for art in secondary school. He went on to study photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, life drawing, film and television and art history at Huntingdale Tech. These studies, combined with seeing scientific experiments being displayed through projectors in science classes, fuelled his curiosity. An interest in new media was bubbling beneath the surface.
In the early 90s Azidis was living in the CBD working in the mediums of metal and painting when he discovered projection art. He was introduced to the artform by Pip Darvel aka Depravision / Visidub, and inspired by two of Melbourne’s godfathers in projection art, Ian De Gruchy and Hugh McSpedden, aka Humania. Azidis was inspired by the architecture around him and the ever-changing landscape of the built environment where he was living. He now works closely with Ian De Gruchy who became his mentor.
Soon after this Azidis bought his first projector, and began modifying and experimenting with the light path to create new and dynamic visuals, which led him to start using it for psychedelic parties. From here his projection work started to gain attention and he was asked to do the projections for more events in and around Melbourne, and eventually at events around the country – each time with new and unique images, custom made and mapped to the architectural structures he was projecting onto.
Azidis’ biggest gigs to date have been doing the projections for the 2012 & 2013 Australian Open and projecting onto the Sydney Opera House and bridge pylons in 2011. He has also been involved with the Gertrude Projection Festival, White Night 2013, Melbourne International Music Week, Circus Oz, Rainbow Serpent Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Big Day Out, Melbourne Biennale, a number of advertising campaigns and numerous corporate events.
Some of Azidis’ principal influences range from the optical artists of the 1960s such as Bridget Riley, Barbara Januszkiewicz and Victor Vasarely to Japanese woodblock printed patterns, Aboriginal art and Islamic artisan patterns. Also, Piero Fornasetti’s “Lina’s Face” has been a subject of fascination and has featured in many of his projections. With over 1,000 different images of Lina’s face, the eyes, nose and mouth are always in the same position even though the facial structure continuously transforms. For his exhibition at Gallery One Three, Azidis is planning to re-create this effect. He will also display a selection of his abstract, patterned, illusionist paintings.
Gallery One Three started in Warburton Lane, Melbourne (known formally as Warburton Lane Exhibits) in 2008. Warburton Lane Exhibits hosted exhibitions, wearable art collections and formal dinners with a look to hosting larger scale events and contemporary art exhibitions. It was when Warburton Lane Exhibits moved one laneway over to Somerset Place that it became Gallery One Three in 2012. It was a difficult year for the gallery but it survived and flourished, hosting a number of internationally recognised exhibitions, multiple L’OREAL Melbourne Fashion Festival events and a Melbourne Music Week event Invisible City 1987.
With two levels of gallery to play with and a whole laneway for projections, Nick Azidis – 21 Years in the Making is set to be an explosive exhibition together with the Melbourne Music Week event INSITU opening on November 23.
This year Gallery One Three has established itself as a centre for diverse cultural expressions – be they music, contemporary art, fashion, video, projection, design or architecture. The gallery also looks forward to hosting a contemporary art exhibition coming up in December by award winning Vietnamese painter and sculptor Dino Hien, which is sponsored by the City of Melbourne.
Nick Azidis – 21 Years in the Making opens on November 23 at Gallery One Three, 13 Somerset Place, Melbourne
