The exhibition installed at Kings Ari. Image supplied by Dudspace.
Walking out of the rain and into Kings Ari, I realised I was wearing a t-shirt with a food stain on it and I had forgotten my pen and notebook. I won’t lie to you, I was feeling like a dud art reviewer. Thankfully I was walking into dudproject #1, an exhibition from the curators of Dudspace, which took over the whole gallery. The curatorial rationale only stipulates that rtists must look outside the white cube and utilise unconventional gallery spaces.
The gallery looked empty and I double checked the opening dates. I stared at scuff marks on the wall and wondered whether this was some new minimalist trend I was unaware of. Then I noticed a flash of colour along the inside of the door frames that I later discovered was Annabelle Kingston’s Feature Wallz (2014).
I gained a little courage in my ability to differentiate between art and scuff marks and decided to walk on a little further. The next room was dark and angled underneath the stairwell creating a little cubby hole which was effectively utilized by Kiron Robinson. In the corner was a selection of cushions and a monitor showing the single channel video I, Me, We, but mostly I. It was awkward and difficult crouching in the corner but once ensconced, the space created a welcomed escapism from the traditional white cube experience.
Next was Lou Hubbard’s Imponderabilia (2014), male and female aprons complete with 3D cushioned breasts and penis, which nevertheless differ aesthetically from the BBQ party variety. The aprons were hung so as to obstruct the walkway, yet their cartoonish nudity begged for interaction and I was compelled to push past the aprons and on to the corridor (…I also squeezed a titty). Walking into a kitchenette, I realised I had made a wrong turn and continued back the way I came, these guys were not making it easy for me.
Back into the blank walls of the second room I encountered curator Madé Spencer-Castle who was able to direct my attention to Sam Fagan’s Pending (2014) and Channon Goodwin’s Short-Time Movement (2014). Both works made almost unnoticeable structural changes that were so heavily reliant on their context both physically and conceptually that they gave the term ‘site specific’ a whole new twist.
Spencer-Castle spoke of the opening night as a completely different experience to the alienating space I had walked into. According to him, on opening night the lack of a conventional use of space forced its audience into discussion and interaction. He said the atmosphere was similar to that of a treasure hunt as groups tried to figure out what was art and what was not.
Dudspace’s driving philosophy of ‘great art in a shit space’ shows a dedication to exciting, brave ideas despite outside constraints. In dudproject #1, the use of spaces which are usually overlooked has the opposite effect one would expect. Instead of becoming an institutional critique, the emphasis/funding/time and effort is placed where it should be: with the artists and their ideas.
Handing me his last dog-eared business card while a poster slowly slid off one of the walls, Spencer-Castle joked, ‘Well you got the full dud experience today!’ I laughed and made sure the collar of my jacket covered the food stain on my t-shirt.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
dudproject#1
Artists: Sam Fagan, Alison Ingamells, Fountain Gate (www.fountaingate1.com), Annabelle Kingston, Channon Goodwin, Nina Mulhall, Lou Hubbard, Jimmy Nuttal, Kiron Robinson, Made Spencer-Castle and Lyndal May Stewart.
Kings Ari, Level 1/171 King St
www.facebook.com/Dudspace
4 – 26 April
