| Carnival at the Lake |
| Wednesday, 17 November 2010 16:41 |
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Like any show worth its bright lights, Carnival at Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery is an exhibition full of curiosity, spectacle, colour and character. We all have vivid memories of going to ‘the show’. The pavilions and amusement rides, sideshow alley and circus acts, daredevil demonstrations and itinerant characters, are all part of the fun.
Carnival culture has provided a treasure trove of material for contemporary visual artists in this exhibition, with the space a veritable sideshow alley of sights, sounds, thrills and stunts. Brook Andrew’s huge inflatable sculpture Clown 1 stops us in our tracks. Flea circus ringmaster Maria Fernanda Cardoso, who claims to have fed her insect subjects on her own blood, manipulates the creatures in live performances, here represented on film. Hunter-based artists Dallas Bray and John Turier relish the more gritty character and exoticism of showtime culture, while Daniel Crooks takes us on the ride of our lives in an astounding video homage to fairground attractions. In exploring pageant and the thrills of show day, the exhibition does not shy away from the darker side of the many attractions that amaze and entertain us. Lisa Roet and Gordon Hookey, for instance, encourage us to see more uncomfortable and exploitative side of carnival life. At once darkly entertaining, challenging and provocative, Carnival will make for essential viewing over summer. Drawing on a diverse range of artworks and contemporary practitioners, curators Meryl Ryan and Rob Cleworth explore the complex social, political and personal phenomenon that is showtime. The second in an annual series of gallery projects, the Glendon School:circus exhibition this time comprises a collection of over 70 works that the students have created throughout the year around the theme of the circus.All the familiar characters and creatures are here, clowns, jugglers, tightrope walkers, acrobats, lions and tigers; represented with fantastic skill and insight by children with a moderate to severe intellectual disability. GALA OPENING EVENT: SUNDAY 21 NOVEMBER • Sausage sizzle, face painting and activities for the kids from 12.30pm • Open conversation with guest artists Dallas Bray, John Turier, and Jody Tydd from Glendon School from 2:00pm • Special performances by William Doodrop – World’s Greatest Juggler and Bubbles the Clown Click here for more information.
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