Exhibitions

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Works from recent COFA graduate and master printer Ben Rak.

In affluent post-war America of the 1950s, a society of conformity developed. “Men in grey flannel suits” became the norm, and advertising agencies began mass marketing to the members of a society who wanted to be “one of the Joneses”.  When the counterculture (hippie) revolution of the 60s began, so did a shift in the thinking behind the advertising industry.  This shift has continued to affect the way brands are created to this day, because marketers began to sell youth culture, rebellion, and individualism.  The capitalist system co-opted emergent counterculture in order to sell the notion of youthfulness to everybody. 
My work explores the relationships that have evolved between clothing, brands, and identity since the co-option of subcultures began.  If clothing is understood as a form of identity in which styles and brands associate us with different groups, we must ask what effect the ability to change our identity by buying clothing off the rack has.
In 1987, Barbara Kruger created a photo print in which she stated “I shop therefore I am”, equating her entire existence with her consumer habits; her statement offers evidence that the idea of acquiring an identity through consumption has been around for decades. My works have been looking at this same issue of identity construction through acts of acquisition and have evolved to examine more specifically the effect of clothing and brand consumption on our idea of identity.  Nowhere is this purchasable identity more evident than in a shopping centre.  “In the shopping mall multiplex, the shopper-spectator tries on different identities in a space that defers external realities” (Grunenberg and Hollein 2002, 64).

 

The prints on paper in this exhibition are editioned. While some works may indicate SOLD, there are multiple copies of each work. Please contact the gallery to enquire as to a prints availability. 

 

 

Art Month Sydney is a new month-long festival that celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of Sydney's thriving visual arts scene.

The inaugural Art Month Sydney runs from 1-31 March 2010, uniting the various elements of the city's art world under one umbrella for the first time. A diverse cross-section of art will be showcased with more than 70 of Sydney's leading commercial galleries, artist-run initiatives, public art museums and auction houses hosting exhibitions, talks, behind-the-scenes tours and special events across the city. People of all ages and art inclinations are invited to engage with the work of artists as part of the first Art Month Sydney.

The inaugural Head On Photo Festival will take place in Sydney from  April 29 to June 5.

This photo festival is an exciting initiative involving galleries, restaurantsDean Golja and cafes around Sydney exhibiting local and international photography. Public galleries, including the Museum of Sydney and the Manly Art Gallery will be taking part, as well as a large number of commercial galleries.

Keeping the same philosophy as Head On Portrait Prize, the festival aims to attract a wide range of excellent photography from Australia and overseas that speaks for itself, regardless of whether the photographer is well known or not.

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