EVERY BRILLIANT EYE: AUSTRALIAN ART OF THE 1990S

From grunge to techno, identity politics to cyborg culture, Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art of the 1990s will explore the cultural phenomena of a decade through the lens of art when the exhibition opens at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia on 2 June 2017.

Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV, said, ‘Every Brilliant Eye will explore the complex cultural landscape of Australia in the 1990s, highlighting both the increasingly diverse approaches to art-making of that decade, and the artists’ innovative use of emerging technologies.’

Taking its name from the 1990 album by Australian rock band Died Pretty, Every Brilliant Eye will feature over 100 works in various media from the NGV Collection, as well as selected ephemera relating to various artist collectives, artist run spaces and subcultures that emerged in the 1990s.

Exhibition highlights include a room dedicated to the club culture of the 1990s, featuring a music video by the multidisciplinary artist Maria Kozic as well as examples of club-inspired fashion and textiles by Leigh Bowery, Peter Tully and design studio Abyss.

Artworks representing the grunge aesthetic include sculptures by Kathy Temin and Ricky Swallow, prints by Kristin Headlam, and an installation by the Melbourne art collective DAMP which features a video of group members simulating a physical fight at their exhibition opening in 1999, destroying their own installation.

Changing notions around identity are highlighted in many of the artworks on display. Photographic works by Patricia Piccininni illustrate an interest in cyborgs and the post-human future. The influence of third wave feminism can be seen in artworks by Annette Bezor, Tracey Moffatt and Anne Ferran. Artists including Gordon Bennett, Juan Davila and Constanze Zikos explore Australian national identity and reappraise the ways in which history is documented and retold.

There will also be art works by the three Indigenous women artists who represented Australia at the Venice Biennale of 1997 – Emily Kam Kngwarray, Yvonne Koolmatrie and Judy Watson – taking contemporary Indigenous Australian art to the world stage.

Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art of the 1990s is on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 2 June – 1 October 2017. Entry is free.

PROGRAMS

Unplugged Live 2017

Sundays at 2pm, 18 June – 23 July
Art and music reconnect as singer-songwriter Jae Laffer (The Panics) hosts conversations with artists and musicians on Sunday afternoons. Unplugged Live will be held in the exhibition space of Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art of the 1990s. Details will be available in May at NGV.MELBOURNESpeakers TBC
Cost Free
Venue Exhibition space

Curator’s Perspective

Sat 3 Jun, 11am
Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art of the 1990s provides an in depth look at a period characterised by dramatic change as artists adopted new technologies and increasingly varied approaches to making art. Explore key themes and artworks in the exhibition with curator Pip Wallis.
Speaker Pip Wallis, Curator, Contemporary Art, NGV
Cost Free
Venue Exhibition space

The 90s: DIY Decade

Sun 16 Jul, 12pm
In the nineties artists took it upon themselves to get things done, from self-publishing of artist books and magazines, to artist-run initiatives and collectives, and a generation of public and street art. What were the forces behind this DIY shift and what legacy has it left today? A panel of local artists will discuss.
Cost Free, bookings essential
Venue Theatre, NGV Australia

Film Screening: Loop/Critical Cities

Sun 20 Aug, 2pm
Loop/Critical Cities is a series of artist films that was originally shown in Longford Cinema in Melbourne in the nineties. This screening is a rare opportunity to re-watch these films, with an introduction by artist Callum Morton, the curator of the project whose work also features in the film.
Speaker Callum Morton, artist
Cost Free, bookings essential
Venue Theatre, Ground level, NGV Australia