polymorphbodypiercing.com.au

Our sense of Taste can be interpreted in many different ways- it relates not only to what we sense with our tongue but also to our aesthetic tastes in art, decorating, music and people. In this way taste is really about what we consume on many different levels, the clothes we wear and the art we buy.

 

We as a people, a culture and a community constantly consume, whether it be food, natural resources, land or last weeks Das Superpaper. Our world and community is based around contentions to do with consumption as it is the key to both our survival and our destruction. Debates rage on our use of earth's resources and the fundamental pace of our consumption; consuming is an issue all of humanity has an opinion about.

 

Of course, our art reflects this. Postmodern Art has been defined as “pastiche” – blank parody, appropriation and conflation between high and low cultures is the logos for what art has supposedly “become”. Thus art is now an issue of consumption, as Brener’s graffiti of Malevich’s work and Damien Hirst’s For the Love of God so clearly express. We equate Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup with advertising, we buy copious cheap prints of Van Gogh and Mondrian; art celebrated for it “originality”. The endless consumption of old imagery to create new meaning has become a kind of cultural cannabalism- something that instead of drawing deeper understanding is concerned with pointing out a lack of meaning to begin with.

 

As the finale of Polymorph Art Gallery’s ‘Sensation Series’, ‘Eat Your Art’ will be a night of consumptive hedonistic excess. This 4 week exhibit intends to provide exposure to a range of different artist by utilising new media and attempting a wide range of coverage in order to promote the artists over and above the art space. Work concerning the notion of appropriation and pastiche, that deals with rehashing images or logos, art as a consumable commodity, humanities consumption in general, and even art that is in fact edible will all be considered.

Polymorph Gallery has an opening of 2 weeks in its calendar! If you are interested in booking a solo exhibit in which the whole of the gallery space is at your disposal please contact us asap to book.

This can include a group show that you have prearranged, a duo exhibit or a solo exhibit. We are open to all ideas and possibilities so feel free to ask us about anything.

Polymorph Art Gallery is hosting a 2 week exhibition as part of Fringe Festival. ‘Scars, Tattoos & Skateboards: The Rise of the Phoenix’ will feature the art of Paul Stragapede; an electrician-come tattooed man-come phoenix.

 

Stragapede was part of a work cover debacle with Energy Australia when in the course of his work he suffered third degree burns across his chest, upper arms and most of his back. Stragapede argued that as part of his rehabilitation Energy Australia should cover the cost of tattooing over the scarred areas… and he won!

 

Stragapede’s work is fun and fiery, consisting of a series of photos explaining his story, a film documenting much of the rehabilitation process as well as several skateboards he has hand-painted with tattoos from his own body. ‘Scars, Tattoos & Skateboards: the Rise of the Phoenix” is more than just a documentary process, it is the journey of a man instilling meaning into disaster and rising from the ashes in an alternative and relevant way.

---

Artist Talk: Tuesday September 21st, 7:30pm – 9pm