Isadora Vaughan: Rumours of True Things

• Ella Howells

Upon entering through Station’s weighty bronze door, Rumours of True Things begins with a whispered welcoming gesture. Isadora Vaughan presents a petite sprig of three local flowers (likely from the Proteaceae family) in a powdery matte finish. Their central node is anchored in place by a soldered loop of jeweller’s wire implanted into the gallery wall like a dermal piercing. Scanning around, the architectural features complement a series of thoughtfully arranged sculptural vignettes. The polished concrete floors provide a neutral backdrop, allowing a restrained pastel palette of lilac, olive, blue and blush to advance. Lofty ceilings with gabled beams contribute to an agricultural omniscience that’s characteristic of Vaughan’s works. This marks Vaughan’s fourth solo offering with Station, revisiting her practice’s alchemical relationality by vacillating between craft, found and recycled objects, horticulture and VCA-trained grottiness. It’s a combination that works for her, especially here. The grot has been washed away, nail beds scrubbed clean, arms stretched wide. We’ve stepped into a new biome.