The Fall of Rome. Saturday 27 August to 17 September, 2022
The Fall of Rome is a group show unlike any other held at the Mount Eden gallery space. The inspiration for the title comes from a W.H. Auden poem of the same name, written just after the end of WW2 in 1947. It’s quite dystopian and deals with an imagined place where people are striking, the workers are disgruntled, a pandemic seems to be happening, and some catastrophic weather events are making everything feel a bit gloomy - ring any bells?
But it’s the last stanza that has inspired the curation of this show:
Altogether elsewhere, vast
Herds of reindeer move across
Miles and miles of golden moss,
Silently and very fast.
The idea inherent in this stanza is one of liberation; that nature will move silently and with determination to fight back against rabid destruction because of rampant capitalism, corruption, and ignorance. Nature will ultimately win this battle, and the form of the show offers glimpses into this dynamic.
Each of the seven artists has responded to the brief in a different way, utilising their practices to address specific points about our relationship with nature, and how we experience it. Significant works from Patricia Piccinini, Andrew Rankin, Lisa Roet, Maxwell (George) Turner, Sefton Rani and Stone Maka make this exhibition powerful, but also nuanced.
Andrew Paul Wood has written a magnificent essay to celebrate this show, and it may be fitting that the last word should be left to him.
“Perhaps, though, it is the artists who are the deer moving across the golden moss in this scenario, in which case maybe the world is better off under their stewardship when the old empire has dissolved away.”
This will be a unique show, designed for all ages to enjoy, and we look forward to welcoming you. (Scott Lawrie, Director)
OPENING DAY Saturday 27 August 11am-5pm.
All welcome!
SCOTT LAWRIE GALLERY, Shed 10, The Steelworks, 13 Coles Avenue (off Valley Road), www.scottlawrie.com
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