JUSTIN TELFER

Sparks Might Fly

October 7 – November 4, 2023

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Life's Trappings  2023,

discarded electrical cables, fabric remnants, banana fibre, palm inflorescence, 140 x 45 x 40cm,

$1100

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks might fly

Justin Telfer

Life's Trappings  2023,

discarded electrical cables, fabric remnants, banana fibre, palm inflorescence, 140 x 45 x 40cm,

$1100

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Rake  2023,

found rake head, discarded data cable, banana fibre, 115 x 50cm,

$450

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Rake (detail)  2023,

found rake head, discarded data cable, banana fibre, 115 x 50cm,

$450

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Untitled   2023,

expired plaster bandage, stripped discarded electric cable, palm inflorescence, 55 x. 30cm,   

$380

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Untitled (detail)  2023,

expired plaster bandage, stripped discarded electric cable, palm inflorescence, 55 x 30cm,   

$380

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Mesh of Life  2023,

discarded electric cables, palm inflorescence, 75 x 75cm,  

$700

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Mesh of Life (detail)  2023,

discarded electric cables, palm inflorescence, 75 x 75cm,  

$700

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Untitled  2023,

discarded electric cables, palm inflorescence, 110 x 116cm,

$650

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Untitled (detail)  2023,

discarded electric cables, palm inflorescence, 110 x 116cm,

$650

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

“get off the bloody computer and go play outside!”  2023,

found basketball hoop, discarded electrical cables, palm inflorescence, 105 x 65 x 47cm, 

$1250

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

“get off the bloody computer and go play outside!” (detail)  2023,

found basketball hoop, discarded electrical cables, palm inflorescence, 105 x 65 x 47cm, 

$1250

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Permutation Creel 2022,

discarded electrical cables and palm inflorescence, 45 x 18 x 18cm,

$550

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Permutation Creel (detail)  2022,

discarded electrical cables and palm inflorescence, 45 x 18 x 18cm,

$550

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Untitled  2023,

palm inflorescence, 55 x 45 x 45cm,

$600

Photo: Marcus Walters

Sparks Might Fly

Justin Telfer

Recharge  2019,

discarded data cable, palm inflorescence, 13 x 18cm,

$150

OPENING NIGHT 5.30 – 7.30PM FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER 2023

Sparks Might Fly challenges us to confront our patterns of consumption and waste.

Artist Justin Telfer weaves together natural and manufactured materials using disused electrical wiring, plastic bags and other salvaged materials together with natural materials such as Bangalow Palm inflorescence and banana fibre. Telfer creates in abundance, using whatever is at hand, or items that would otherwise go to landfill to create his forms. The work invites us to contemplate the lifespan of materials, biodegradability, and the traces we leave behind. 

By weaving these materials together he creates a powerful visual dialogue that resonates with both the aesthetic and the ethical. The medium is the message – Telfer reminds us the waste we create will remain inextricable from our natural world.

Telfer employs the technical skills and elements of weaving in both random and more traditional styles with knotting, stitching and string making. His interest in the tactile through the application of traditional techniques using non-traditional materials, allows the materials to guide his creations testing the limits of his chosen materials and allowing one action to lead to another, letting the work evolve.

The works prompts the viewer to reflect the on the cost of progress and the importance of conscious consumption and embedding sustainability in our daily lives.

Justin Telfer graduated from the Byron School of Art in 2020. He has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions, been selected as a finalist in art prizes, and was awarded first prize in the Whitsundays Art Prize in 2022.