About the artists

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the seven 2016 Artspace One Year Studio Artists: Brown Council, Benjamin Forster, Hossein Ghaemi, Nell, Raquel Ormella, Koji Ryui and Khaled Sabsabi.

Free studios are just one of the ways that Artspace supports living artists, and these seven practitioners will engage with their spaces in a variety of ways leading towards national and international exhibitions and projects, including major new commissions for the 20th Biennale ofSydney and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

BROWN COUNCIL

Formed 2007; Live Sydney

Brown Council is the collaborative practice of Frances Barrett, Kate Blackmore, Kelly Doley and Diana Smith. Brown Council have collectively made performance and video works that straddle the contexts of gallery, stage, alternative sites and public spaces, and draw on the historical lineages of both the visual and performing arts. 

BENJAMIN FORSTER

Born Sydney; Lives Newtown, Sydney

Benjamin Forster’s practice is situated in contemporary drawing, bringing together digital and biological technologies, installation, performance and print to trace the boundaries of logic, economy and the role of the artist in art making. 

HOSSEIN GHAEMI

Born Tehran, Iran; Lives Summer Hill, Sydney

Hossein Ghaemi has a multidisciplinary practice that includes painting, sculpture, performance, audio, film and installation, incorporating intuitive thoughts and idiosyncratic narratives. Hossein was an artist in residence with Parramatta Artists Studios in 2015.

NELL

Born Maitland, NSW; Lives Elizabeth Bay, Sydney

Nell’s practice is multifaceted and interdisciplinary, crossing performance, sculpture, video, music and immersive installation and is underpinned by an ongoing and committed enquiry into selfhood, mortality and contemporary manifestations of spiritual traditions.

RAQUEL ORMELLA

Born Sydney, NSW; Lives Marrickville, Sydney

Raquel Ormella is an installation artist working across various media to investigate political language and its effects on national identity and the complex relationships between humans and the natural environment.

KOJI RYUI

Born Kyoto, Japan; Lives Petersham, Sydney

Koji Ruyi makes sculptures in response to commonplace materials, inviting a deep contemplation of the ordinary and its physicality with minimal gestures and a playful sensibility. 

KHALED SABSABI

Born Tripoli, Lebanon; Lives Bonnyrigg, Sydney

Khaled Sabsabi is an artist and community arts practitioner who specialises in multimedia; sound, video, installation and hip hop production. His work reflects the complex space of border identities, migrant territories and identity production.