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By: Damien Worst
Date: 27th Sep 06
Medium: Mixed
Drink: Anything, as long as you look good holding it
What:
Nasty... (Not Nice)
When:
Free Beer Opening at 6pm-8pm Friday September 29. 11am-6pm Tuesday to Sunday until October 12
Where:
Brunswick Street Gallery, Level 2, 322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
How much:
Free
Contact:
The exhibition online or the Brunswick Street Gallery 8415 0066
No, its not a collection of art critics; almost the opposite. There's a sense of lost opportunity walking out of some galleries; 'emotionless', 'formless' are rarely properties of art; they are best used as insults. To paraphrase Philip Brophy, 'please stop with the boring art.' A painting of someone's favourite bar or a video of some half-arsed confessional are only as interesting as the people they document.
You can genuinely look forward to Nasty.... Not Nice (dubbed the 2006 edition). Last year it was one of the only art experiences that pulled off with genuine verve and excitement what hundreds try with an affected condition; emotion. In this case, the red and black of blood, religion, nakedness and an overpowering sense of dread. This year's Nasty is a collection from much of the same circle of artists who have carved out their own worlds. Artists Fiona Dalwood, Lauren Olney, Bobby Harrington and Shannon Hourigan array photography, painting and yes, sculptured dolls. The kind of images evoked are twisted bodies in grim locales, images of dread on the moor, eyeless horrors peering at you behind plastic veils. All that, and your feeling is more likely to be decadent exultation than horror.
Nasty... (Not Nice) is part of the 2006 Melbourne Fringe Festival, which is much like the other arts festivals on offer in Melbourne, but you know, fringey.