Deakin University Art Gallery celebrates Lucas Ihlein: Diagrammatic

A Deakin alumnus, Ihlein won the 2010 Alfred Deakin Medal for best Doctoral Thesis in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Now based in Wollongong, he has gathered wide support for his initiatives challenging the traditional domains of artistic production.

Following his achievements at Deakin, Ihlein has gone on to be awarded a prestigious DECRA Early Career Fellowship.

The exhibition, Lucas Ihlein: Diagrammatic, showcases his unconventional approach to artistic expression and environmental advocacy.

Guest curator Jasmin Stephens said the exhibition considers the importance of the medium of printmaking for Ihlein as an exploration of sustainability issues.

"In Ihlein's work, the promotional and collaborative aspects of printmaking extend his creativity and his reach as an artist," Stephens said.

"As well as the possibilities of printmaking, the exhibition explores the use of the diagram as a thinking device in Ihlein's activities.

"This thinking in a 'diagrammatic' way is demonstrated through projects located in a museum, in agriculture and in our waterways."

The exhibition also includes works created by Ihlein with long-term collaborators such as artist Ian Milliss, activist group SquatSpace and the printmaking co-operative Big Fag Press.

Ihlein's career-long interdisciplinary approach includes the multi-year Sugar vs the Reef? project, which uses land art to explore land management and ecology, as well as 2010's Environmental Audit series of infographic prints graphing and mapping complex data for Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Lucas Ihlein: Diagrammatic launches 6pm Wednesday 11 April with an official opening from Deakin School of Communication and Creative Arts Head of School Professor Matthew Allen.

The launch will be preceded by an exhibition preview and floor talk from curator Jasmin Stephens, beginning at 5pm.

The exhibition is running from 11 April to 18 May 2018 at Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne Burwood Campus.

Visit the Deakin Art Gallery website for more details.