MetroArts in Brisbane will come alive with Lachlan Anthony's new exhibition 'Geometric Asylum'.
The exhibition deals with space, along with the power and control humans have when it comes to occupying it. The audience will be faced with large pieces of architecture that will limit movement and create a relationship between the viewer and the art.
Creator Lachlan Anthony answered some questions about the upcoming exhibition.
What is your history with art? When did it click that you wanted to go into this industry?There was never really a conscious desire to enter the arts, I mean the idea of “entering an industry” conventionally relates to how a worker can extract wages and financial stability, and to a much lesser extent job satisfaction. In my personal experience working as an artist involves some degree of financial destitution and so my participation is almost entirely about personal satisfaction, art it is the thing that I seem to do best and also enjoy the most. That sounds so basic, but it’s the essence.
Where did the inspiration for 'Geometric Asylum' come from?
'Geometric Asylum' is a concept that developed out of my work 'Circulation 2015'. The concept itself refers to the spaces in which a viewer can stand still and not be forced to move by circular kinetic forces. My primary interest for this show and the works included in it is related to the politics of space. A simple explanation of this is when I am sitting in a particular chair, you cannot be sitting in it, and so on the most simple level there is a politic of occupation, control and power that relates to how our different positions are negotiated.
Have you ever done work like this before? How does it compare to your past works?
The works included in this show form a bridge between the aesthetic developments that were characteristic of my earlier work, and the more raw and conceptually driven work of later projects such as 'Display Room 2012' and 'Age of Ease 2012'. These later projects explored notions of freedom and perceived freedoms through often aggressive and ethically grey modes of audience participation.
What can audiences expect at the exhibition?
Audiences can expect a series of sculpture and installation works that explore relationships between space, power and control. Hostile architectures, deterrent physical forms and automated kinetic systems will impose limitations on the viewer’s movement throughout the gallery.
What have you learned during the creative process of this art?This work was developed over an intense two-year period within an MFA. This period involved model making, technical experimentation, preliminary installations and a lot of theoretical reading. I guess I have learned that in terms of final quality, longer and intense development time produces better work.
What's next for Lachlan Anthony?
I am currently working on a large-scale installation commissioned by a soon to be opened private museum near Daylesford in central Victoria. This project will see light of day in 2017.
'Geometric Asylum' shows at MetroArts Brisbane 13-30 July.
