Strange Meadows

Text by Zachary Calleja

Enchantment is commonly defined as a feeling of great pleasure or delight. It is also defined as a state of being; a psychological state with some physical effect, or for the whimsical and witchy, a trance invoked by the use of spells or magic. Through his practice as a painter and sculptor, artist Eduardo Wolfe-Alegria evokes enchanted states of being, delving into the myriad contexts in which they manifest. His bold, dreamy oil paintings and textural, tactile sculptures depict surreal lifeforms and landscapes, employing fantasy and symbolism to convey a multitude of narratives. Brilliantly vibrant and deliciously camp, these works speak to the rich complexity of his inner life, imaginings and relationships, in turn highlighting a vital sense of connection to place, environment, living things and the universe at large.

Wolfe-Alegria’s new show ‘Strange Meadows’, opening at Oigåll Projects in November, is inspired by a period of five years which the artist spent living on a rural property in Walbunja country in the Southern Tablelands of NSW. Set amongst sparse and rolling scenery, he became increasingly fascinated with the flora, fauna and natural phenomena he found himself immersed in. Witnessing the once parched landscape bursting with life and colour following unusually heavy rainfall, this period of time served as a poetic reminder of nature’s own powers of enchantment, transformation and resilience. This period and series of works also represent a grounding of Wolfe-Alegria’s practice in his lived experience, a process of ‘enchanting the real’, in which imaginary visions, and ‘real’ scenarios and landscapes coalesce.

These heady visions of pastoral life, animals and nature, also take on a decidedly queer sensibility; linked to a sense of escapism, infused with colour and fantasy, Wolfe-Alegria processes the world around him to create a space which is beautiful, transportive and reflective of his internal subjectivity. Similarly, there exists a palimpsest of sorts within the works, tied to Wolfe-Alegria’s diasporic North and Central American heritage. Growing up in Australia and experiencing a sense of being in between identities, this blurring of what belongs, what doesn’t and the resulting middle ground of assimilation, takes on subtle but resonant meaning. The delicate politics of this paradox of belonging emerges in his depiction of invasive or ‘pest’ species such as introduced grasses and weeds. The anthropomorphic depiction of these weeds as well as creatures like alpacas and horses, introduced to the landscape for agricultural purposes, carry symbolic significance as something foreign made familiar, their identity and agency expanded to become more nuanced, charismatic and meaningful. This blending and blurring, the heightening of experience and the presence of layered ideas, highlights Wolfe-Alegria’s ability to transform the mundane, celebrating the power of fantasy and narrative, and enchanting us as an audience.

Strange Meadows, installation view, Oigall Projects, Melbourne, 2024
Dimensions Variable
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Hannibal en la Hierba con la Crin Azul (Hannibal in the Grass with Blue Mane), 2024
Oil on Canvas
152 X 122 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Hannibal en la Hierba con la Crin Azul (Hannibal in the Grass with Blue Mane), 2024, installation view
Oil on Canvas
152 X 122 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Dancing Til Dawn, 2024
Oil on Linen
30.5 x 20.3 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Dancing Til Dawn, 2024, installation view
Oil on Linen
30.5 x 20.3 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Mother, 2024
Digitally printed PLA filament, acrylic, epoxy, plaster, resin, fabric
214 cm x 89 cm x 87 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Mother, 2024
Digitally printed PLA filament, acrylic, epoxy, plaster, resin, fabric
approx. 100 cm x 50 cm x 80 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Mother, 2024
Digitally printed PLA filament, acrylic, epoxy, plaster, resin, fabric
Approx. 80 cm x 40cm x 50 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Mother, 2024
Digitally printed PLA filament, acrylic, epoxy, plaster, resin, fabric
Approx. 100 cm x 89 cm x 87 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Blanco y Caramelo en la Hierba con el Cielo Rosado, (Blanco and Caramelo in the Grass with Pink Sky), 2024
Oil on Canvas
152 X 122 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Blanco y Caramelo en la Hierba con el Cielo Rosado, (Blanco and Caramelo in the Grass with Pink Sky), 2024, installation view
Oil on Canvas
152 X 122 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Pinky, 2024
3D printed PLA, plaster, polymer, angora, fabric, acrylic paint, resin, epoxy, steel
59 x 90 x 53 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Pinky, (detail) 2024
3D printed PLA, plaster, polymer, angora, fabric, acrylic paint, resin, epoxy, steel
approx. 59 x 45 x 53 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Pinky, (detail) 2024
3D printed PLA, plaster, polymer, angora, fabric, acrylic paint, resin, epoxy, steel
approx. 45 x 35 x 45 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Elke’s Sunflower (As the Fog Rolled In), 2024
Oil on Canvas
133 x 66 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis

Elke’s Sunflower (As the Fog Rolled In), 2024, installation view
Oil on Canvas
133 x 66 cm
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis