SYDNEY - BERLIN - MURRURUNDI

M I C H A E L R E I D

SYDNEY - BERLIN - MURRURUNDI

M I C H A E L R E I D

B103 Carriageworks245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh (cnr Codrington St)

Sydney Contemporary 13

Joseph McGlennonChristopher Pease

Joan RossChristian Thompson

Brian RobinsonDanie Mellor

19th - 22nd September 2013

The Hangover - The consequences of colonial controlThe heavy consumptions of another’s imported culture has consequences, this is not a value judgement, it is an observation. The over-hang, the hangover, the headache, the hypersensitivity of our society to early colonialism continues to swirl and ripple with reactions. Our artists Danie Mellor, Joseph McGlennon, Christopher Pease,

Brian Robinson, Christian Thompson and Joan Ross engage in this dialogue.

Joseph McGlennonThylacine Study Number 3, 2013giclee print on archival Hahnemuhle Fine Art Paper140 x 168cm framedEdition of one “Hero” image

Photographed on location in Van Diemans Land

Joseph McGlennonKangaroo Study Number 3, 2010giclee digital print on archival Hahnemule Fine Art paper138 x 138 cm approx, framedEdition of one “Hero” image

Photographed in St James Park, London, UK

Christopher PeaseDown the Rabbit Hole II, 2013oil on canvas61.5 x 90.5cm

Down the Rabbit Hole II takes its inspiration from an early first contact drawing by William Westall, mashed-up with John Tenniel’s illustration of the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Below threatening grey clouds a Minang man of the Nyoongar nation stands proudly, gazing assuredly out of the canvas. Drawn in accordance with the neoclassical conventions of the time, his kangaroo skin or bwoka is transformed into soft cloth draped around his arms and he is adorned with possum fur armbands and an emu feather headdress. Standing next to him the incongruous figure of the White Rabbit, in winged-collar, waistcoat and jacket and carrying an umbrella, consults his pocket watch. The illustration is taken from Chapter 1 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice spots the White Rabbit going down a large rabbit-hole. “In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again”. The impossibility of Alice’s return to where she has come from or of the White Rabbit being able to turn back time on his pocket-watch mirrors how life for the Nyoongar people of Western Australia’s south-west changed irreversibly on first contact and after subsequent settlement. As she falls, Alice reveals her ignorance about who and what she will find on the other side of the world, “I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny it’ll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards! The Antipathies, I think’….’but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please Ma’am, is this New Zealand or Australia?” In addition the White Rabbit is a direct reference to the introduction of a new, non-native species of animal and the creation of imbalance in nature.

Christian Thompson‘Untitled #1’ 2010King Billy series C-type print100 x 100 cmEdition of 10

Christian Thompson‘Untitled #2’ 2010King Billy series C-type print100 x 100 cmEdition of 10

Christian Thompson‘Untitled #3’ 2010King Billy series C-type print100 x 100 cmEdition of 10

Joan RossButterfly murdering, 2013Hand painted pigment print on cotton rag paper 90 x 91cm (image size) Edition of 3

Joan RossTag and capture, 2013Hand painted pigment print on cotton rag paper 91 x 90cm (image size) Edition of 3

Joan RossTouching other people’s butterflies, 2013Digital animation 2 min 45 sec Edition of 6

Joan RossStop with fluoro, 2013Hand painted pigment print on cotton rag paper 33.5 x 44.5cm (image size) Edition of 3

Joan RossNorthern Terrortory, 2008Kangaroo fur, gold bollards, dimensions variable

Brian Robinson - Waiben (Thursday Island) Torres Strait Harvest season I, 2012Linocut printed in black from one blockEdition of 30Image size: 51.5 x 79.5cmPaper size: 80 x 120cmPaper type: BFK Rives white 300 GSM

ProvenanceDjumbunji Press, KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns, QLD, Cat #BRRO059

Brian Robinson - Waiben (Thursday Island) Torres Strait 3 fishermen and a Lamborghini, 2011Linocut printed in black from one blockEdition of 30Image size: 40 x 88.5cmPaper size: 63.5 x 110cmPaper type: BFK Rives white 300 GSM

ProvenanceDjumbunji Press, KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns, QLD, Cat #BRRO053

Danie MellorNew World, New Order (The Visitors), 2009mixed media on paper139.5 x 100.0 cm

ProvenanceJan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane Private collection, Brisbane

Exhibited Tweed River Art Gallery, 7 May - 20 June 2010 Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, 7 October - 20 November 2011

Danie MellorKangaroo love and a moment of comfort, 2008mixed media on paper103.0 x 100.0 cm

ProvenanceCaruana & Reid Fine Art, Sydney Private collection, New York, USA; purchased in 2008

Adam Sims 0421 283765 adamsims@michaelreid.com.auNicola Townsend 0438 415672 nicolatownsend@michaelreid.com.au

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