Curators
Alex Gawronski
Justene Williams
Artists
STEPHEN BIRCH
ALEX GAWRONSKI
SEAN KERR
PETRA MAITZ
DANIEL MCKEWEN
JELENA TELECKI
JUSTENE WILLIAMS
Big Cheese
Date: 09-Jun-2016 – 17-Jul-2016
Location: Contemporary Art Tasmania
Why is there always cheese at exhibition openings?
Cheese is a paradigmatically transformative and metamorphic substance that could speak equally of contemporary modes of thought, the experiences of global time and space as fundamentally molten and fluid.
Central to the consideration of cheese in the context of this exhibition, is the quotient of abjection that clings to the idea of certain cheeses that ʻstinkʼ, are quasi-molten, mould and bacteria bearing. In these instances, the magic lies in the transformation of a base substance into something that is both highly-prized commercially and considered a sensual delicacy. The border between disgust and desire elicited by such cheeses is practically Surrealist. No surprise that a work iconically central to that movement, Daliʼs ʻPersistence of Memoryʼ (1931) transforms watches into camembert; time like cheese is unstable, hard or soft, dry or molten, crumbling or blooming.
Big Cheese is presented in association with Dark Mofo 2016. The exhibition opening has been generously supported by the Hill Street Grocer.
