BIG BEAR PRINTS OF ARGENTINA
Grainy, double-exposed in black and white, and eerily reminiscent of snapshots from another time, artist Chris Newman’s exhibition Big Bear Prints of Argentina at Blank Space gallery shows us a side of the country we don’t often see. Says Newman of one piece featuring two men’s heads in silhouette, “In Buenos Aires, it’s not uncommon to see two men dance tango together. Even on busy pedestrian shopping streets in the centre of town, people perform the dance that is synonymous with the city.” Another seemingly empty landscape shot communicates freedom of expression by referencing a group of art students who went missing during the dictatorship. “This is a a parallel to the freedom being expressed today with through Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, being gay, a freedom that also did not exist in the past.” (AB)
Feb 26-Mar 11, Blank Space Gallery, 374 Crown St, Surry Hills, blankspace.com.au
