Anne and Jay Sykes

Exhibition Dates :
Thursday 6 February, 2025 – Monday 3 March, 2025
**Installation viewable 24/7

‘A Collaboration’ features works and ideas from Anthony and Bridget Sutton, brought to life in an eccentric mix of media by their child and grandchild, Anne and Jay Sykes.

A doll house and a set of animals for an ark. Two unfinished projects from a man who made so, so many things for his grandchildren, rediscovered after he left us. We intend to honour his memory by finishing and sharing what he started.

A compulsive doodling habit, the same patterns present without ever being taught. A desire to indulge the imagination, forever and a day. A love of board and card games bordering on the obsessive. These were the things she wanted her grandchildren to keep with them. We will weave them around the carpentry of her husband.

We feel their absence deeply every day. Waves of grief hit, break and return to the ocean.

‘A Collaboration’ addresses family, childhood and grief. The wooden pieces at the centre of the installation were started by Anthony Sutton and the influence of Bridget Sutton is also present throughout.

‘The weeks spent staying with my grandparents on their rural property in Maydena were some of the most formative experiences of my childhood. Hiking in Mt Field, barbecues at Lake Peddar and just romping around, I felt the shadows of what I would later find out was mental illness melting away. My troubles socialising, my anxiety and my dark moods all had a much harder time reaching me up there. The space my grandparents’ made was a haven of fun and wonder that I am forever grateful for. I hope, with this piece, to share some semblance of that place.’ – Jay Sykes

‘While clearing my parents house after my dad had passed I found art projects started and carefully stored away in tins and boxes, toys for my kids lovingly crafted by their grandad, and design ideas by their Granny B. My parents started me on my artistic journey very early in life, always encouraging and facilitating. It will be a wonderful way to honour their memory, to work with Jay using their creations as a starting point and incorporating our own ideas to bring it to fruition. They would be so excited and proud.’ – Anne Sykes