MAXIMUM MADNESS: Art Inspired by Mad Max
16 March - 30 June 2024
George Miller’s genre-defining Mad Max film series has grown from a tense, low budget Ozsploitation cult hit into a sprawling post apocalypse action opera, redefining science fiction along the way. A complex and compelling mashup of biker, S/M, gearhead, Queer and beefcake cultures and their associated aesthetics, Mad Max has become a cosplay favourite, and has become massively influential in cultural terms, being ripped off, satirised and idolised by sources as varied as The Simpsons, Phil Collins, video games and pro wrestling.
With its grab bag aesthetics, subversive politics and lustful, irreverent approach to Australian hoon culture, Mad Max has remained a cultural touchstone, and a highly influential convergence of tropes, images and iconoclasm, ideal inspiration for visual artists. Bringing together a range of artists paying homage to their favourite post-apocalyptic (anti)hero, it’s time for Maximum Madness.
Featuring Isabel & Alfredo Aquilizan, Karike Ashworth, Cigdem Aydemir, Martin Bell, Penny Byrne, Patrick Connor, Rod Coverdale, Alex Cowley, Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro, Robert Fielding, Emma Gardner, Shaun Gladwell, Franck Gohier, David Griggs, Rosemary Lee, Reg Mombassa, Adam Norton, Phoebe Paradise, Brian Robinson, David Sawtell, Ian Smith, Karen Stephens, Brendon Tohill and Paul White.
Curated by Jonathan McBurnie.
Artwork Statement
Are We All Stars?
What is a movie if not for its relatable heroes, villains, and almost loveable inadequates? Tales of sacrifice, distrust, heartache, and revenge—a spectacle of human vices revved up and auto-charged. I place myself in their shoes, wondering which parts of my psyche align with each of their values. The righteousness of their faith and devotion, their unwavering belief—could I push myself to that level of violence, destruction, detachment while holding onto my motivation?
Set in the extremes of a dire existence—threatened by greed and the governance of natural resources—an existence almost too relatable to feel like fiction—these characters find moments of connection and passion. Could I? I suspend myself in their place, asking, would I find love or rage; would I be brave enough?
Taking its cue from the 35mm film that the original Mad Max was shot on, this work manipulates negative images printed on cellulose and developed with sunlight to visualize the shadow of myself cast amongst the characters of Fury Road. The process of capturing the image is layered and leans into the complexities of the light and dark of the human psyche—dark, light, shadowy, fractured, and distorted.
Spot lit, the work reflects and inverts through the mirror, we see fragments of the whole, distorting our interpretation and perception of the characters.
