Domestic Departures
Image: 'Single Origin 1' by Jasper Knight
Domestic Departures at Chalk Horse Gallery challenges ideas of home to produce a group show that is aesthetically interesting and politically powerful.
In The Re -introduction of Australian Knighthood Abdul Abdullah focuses on a menacing balaclava-clad figure draped by Australian iconography as a caustic comment on modern patriotism.
While Abdullah confronts the public sphere, Jasper Knight examines the personal. The fractured armchair of Single Origin 1 shatters the metaphor of safe-haven with its cubist-like composition.
The third included artist, James Oram, has contributed a visual narrative in Stack, which uses the ubiquitous lottery scratchie to suggest the fragility of suburban utopia. It concentrates on a hand which scratches a series of losing tickets and uses them to construct a house of cards. It is a beautifully rendered film which connects on a deep level with the ‘fair go’ mythology.
Overall this exhibition is a profound exposition on contemporary Australian conundrums. (LR)
Until Oct 4, Chalk Horse Gallery, 171 William St, Darlinghurst, free, chalkhorse.com.au
