5 July 2010

Nobody Knows


17 July - 15 August, 2010
Gold Coast City Gallery
135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise Q


Anne Wallace, Salto Mortale, 2010, oil on canvas 116x89cm Rob McHaffie, Hope for the Disheveled Seeker I, 2010, oil on linen, 56x66 cm.

I've been a follower of Anne Wallace's works since I had a high school outing in 1997 and we stumbled upon her painting 'Damage' at Queensland Art Gallery. Wallace's photorealist Hitchkokian-atmospheric paintings entice audiences to 'look closer' and study the subtle story is breathing behind the layers, camouflaged from the glimpse. Simon Mee's works are quite similar with his gothy, ambiguously eerie references to pop culture and folklore. When I see a Mee work I am thrown back to the era of the PuppetMasters , a cult film that used to scare/send me ROFLing when I was a kid. Rob McHaffie's works, I'm not familiar with yet, but it looks like he has a knack for quirky titles, and wouldn't it be great if his esoteric, Gentelemen Broncosesque landscapes extisted in real life? Who would not want to hang with baby Jesus in a pink cloud as we gaze at Africa. Looking forward to hearing these artists discuss their works at the Gold Coast City Gallery next week, and maybe stuff myself with chocolate treats in the process! A free 16 page catalogue is available to coincide with the show.

L-R Simon Mee, Boating on the Styx, 2010, chalk and charcoal on primed paper
Rob McHaffie, Is ‘home and away’ on yet?, 2009, oil on linen 46 x 36cm.

“A curator is meant to be objective, in this case however I feel am the exact opposite. I have deliberately indulged my personal delight and pleasure in working with two artists whose work I enjoy. Anne and Rob’s work have both filled me with that strange mixture of pleasure and envy brought on by the “I wish I had done that” feeling.” - Simon Mee, artist and curator of Nobody Knows

"McHaffie’s dream-like mis en scenes have a hintof apocalypse, Mee’s doll-like figurines have a whiff of tortured deformity andWallace’s is a world of grey skies and ominous shadows.All three are like nocturnal somnambulists bringing their visions into thewaking world, what Thomas Pynchon has described as "that rare and luminous gift for reporting back from the nocturnal side of reality.” - Ashley Crawford, from the Nobody Knows catalogue.


OPENING EVENT: HIGH TEA WITH THE ARTISTS

Friday 16 July 2-4pm Tickets $30 + BF
Join artists Simon Mee, Rob McHaffie and Anne Wallace in launching their exhibition
'Nobody Knows': New works evoking strange stories and act as imaginary previews of the artists' humours and dark experiences. Enjoy a delicious selection of savoury/sweet treats and wine/coffee, and hear each artist speak about their works.
Tix: $30 + BF. Book tix. W > www.theartscentregc.com.au E > gallery@theartscentregc.com.au Ph > 55814000

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