G'day
Possums,
Art
imitates life and what better at imitating the flatness of current Oz life than
photography; so Mrs Wombat and I toddled off up the road t'other day to the
eighth Ballarat International Foto Biennale.
Art
also reflects the mores and practices that manifest societally as culture and
the contemporary parallels exhibited are ominous in the extreme.
We
parked opposite the Mining Exchange and given that that venue usually displays
a cornucopia of imagery, headed there...oops, there was only Fiona Foley's
"Who are these strangers and where are they going?" A lack of labels made one look harder for
context and deciding that we were looking at an installation utilising objects,
video and photographs, proceeded.
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| Fiona Foley: "Who are these strangers and where are they going?" |
Reality #1. Although Network Noine will not admit it paid
The Red Terror from the Deep north to disrespect the indigenous custodians of
Uluru by climbing their sacred site.....particularly after her insult turned to
farce when, A/ she didn't have the bottle to go up much further than 40 metres
, B/ couldn't walk down and had to, more aptly and toddler-like, slide down on
her derriere, it still provided this repulsive woman all the publicity she
craved.
Reality#2 Defending
their traditional Gomeroi country from mining, a family is suing Faux
Environment Minister, Real Estate Ley after she rejected their heritage
protection bid in favour of a controversial Chinese coal project. Acknowledging
the project could cause "mental health impacts … a sense of dislocation,
displacement and dispossession," but said by way of digital salute, the
social and economic value of the project took priority.
So,
invasion, dispossession, manipulation, slavery, despoliation and arrogant
acceptance are the theme but installation is theatrical and apart from the
ominously flattened midden "runway" of oyster shells leading to the
empty tent this exhibit was too far spread in this huge space to be effective;
and for my taste the staged photo's too prosaic and really, pretty ordinary and
in some cases "cute," (Black KKK ???) to be much other than
presenting a "very worthy" exhibit.
And
then popping into the Central Highlands Waterworks historical exhibit next was
a trifle surreal .....viewing all those Victorian workers and worthies digging
up Wadawurrong country with such gusto.....
....and
followed in turn by sublime Israeli arrogance with "Soldiers" where
Adi Nes makes banal cartoonish pastiches of old master works and themes like
"The Pieta" and "The Last Supper".....Haw, Haw, nudge,
nudge.. wink, wink...you xtians...
but he provides at least some reality by showing four soldiers pissing on what I
assume is most likely, "occupied territory."
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| Adi Nes: Soldiers |
Reality# 3. Coming into the open and phoning the Ruling
Rabble's private militia Deputy Plod Gaughan, Obersturmfuhrer Pezzi Pezzullo congratulated his AFP
bovver-boys for their teamwork in raiding Annika Smethurst's undies drawer and
said "Well done, tomorrow is another day." By which, he obviously
meant that the successful rehearsal at A.S's meant "go-go-go" for
invading the ABC the next day!
Obersturmfuhrer Pezzi thought negative commentary about his
congratulatory epistle to fellow professionals was not meant to indicate
"a supposed attitude to press freedom" ....whatever that is!
Reality #4 Its been a very quiet anniversary for Scummo, The
Happy-Clapper, Liar from the Shire, Hypocrite and Pentacostal Prime Miniature
... as he has done nothing in 12 months worthy of celebration.
Visiting Timor-Leste, Scummo assiduously avoided the
demonstrations against the secret star chamber proceeding against the whistle
blower and his lawyer who "blew" Oz's perfidy in bugging the Timor
Gap oil treaty talks.
Also playing down this episode from his taxpayer funded
retreat in London was Bookshelves Brandis, who knew that by proceeding when
Plastic Attorney General he was dragging Little-Johnny, Fishnets-that-Batter
and himself through the mire of their own corruption and obviously sees the
Unxtian Porter's stupidity in not understanding even that in his slavish
roll-over to Potato-Head's fascist vanity and fantasies as even poorer judgment
than the event itself.
The
New York times allegedly called these works "shrewd send-ups of the
pervasive macho, military presence in Israeli life...".... now, who says
the American's don't understand irony?
There
were the Watchtowers dotted down Sturt St, the Missiles in Police Lane, Boy-o
Xmas cards at The Forge and the Blind Radius series Part2, Dolls in the Trade
Union and photographs of dioramas downstairs there too... Gosh, If I had have
known I was making art by photographing these for a children's book I would
have entered, too!
Portraits
in The Town Hall were lacklustre in the main... and Petals, neither Mrs Wombat
nor I were moved enough to even vote in the public choice.
 |
| Consuelo Cavaniglia: I came Back, Toward Myself |
The Bauhaus was interesting
although it was a pity Ruff hadn't given a nod to the influence of Kandinsky and in the overall curation, acknowledgment at least to Laszlo Moholy-Nagy,
particularly his work "Vision in Motion."
 |
| Zoe Croggon |
In
talking earlier about the nature of the works, they're ominous for the very
reason that they hold no "bite", they're almost all "throw-away-lines," disinterestedly whimsical in only noting an event or
action without serious passion or involvement and seemingly produced for an
audience of jaded over-sophisticated tastes and of the lightest touch. "Rococo"?
The
curation similarly seemed haphazard and uneven, aesthetically unsure whether it
was exhibiting sculpture, installation art or photography and I'll not be
seeing the "show-stopper" because I thought conceptual art's
"process over form and content" died in the last century's early seventies and besides,
"Where's Wally?" holds little
interest after the first time.
But
for the rest ....there's always tomorrow.... to coin a phrase....
Hoo-roo
Petals,
Shane.
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