Spectacle

Research Background The exhibition ‘Tell Me My Truth’ seeks to address persistent and often contentious relationships that frame the individual within the group. Exploring the motivations of artists for whom a questioning of the veracity of the status quo is a defining aspect of their practice, the exhibition presents works that give form to alternative narratives. Spectacle uses voice and image to describe a scenario where a large number of people gather, move together and enact their right to protest. Within the video both the place of the demonstration and the demands of the crowds remain ambiguous however the video was filmed in Portugal over a 12 month period during a time of historic protest towards the European Union’s austerity measures which were imposed on the Portuguese government since the economic crisis of 2009. Research Contribution The work Spectacle contributes to the theme of this exhibition by creating an ambiguous space where images of actual political demonstrations are combined with a semi-fictional text. The work questions notions of veracity, presence and participation in a contemporary political climate. There is a tension created in the video between what is seen and what we are told we are seeing. The video creates a confrontation of gazes and camera lenses that aims to provoke questions of identification and representation in relation to political demonstration within the public sphere. Research Significance Spectacle was supported by an Australia Council for the Arts New Work grant as part of a larger body of work developed in Portugal between 2012 and 2015.