GRACE DEWAR

DISCO SHOW

Curated by David Usher & Grace Dewar  

Disco Show is a group exhibition that experiments with themes of playful reconnection with the timeless culture that we know as ‘Disco’. Artists have been invited to contribute one 30 x 30cm artwork, indicative of a 33 1⁄3 rpm vinyl record; in any format and any chosen medium. Collectively, these LP-size artworks will respond to an intimate space, complete with oversized mirror-ball; referencing a small dance studio of the kind found in the laneways of many Australian dance floors during the long hot summer of 1977.

The unconventional, disco ball lighting will serve to re-contextualise a time and place that changed music culture, for better or worse, forever. The mirror ball acted as a signifier of the disco movement, which in turn has become a touchstone of this exhibition.

Questioning the traditional context of a gallery space, Disco Show has offered a reimagined setting of ‘disco’ lighting as a point of departure. This in parts, has informed the work exhibited, with artists open to the idea that the lighting will alter, reconstruct or reinterpret the work made. Neither artists nor curators will see the work in its full context until the lights go out.

This shiny showcase directly acknowledges the format of the LP, meaning ‘long play; acting as a contemporary recognition to the artists thriving in a regional setting; more than just staying alive. Above all, Disco Show is a celebration.

Exhibiting artists: Andrew MacDonald, Alice Weinthal, Alison Mooney, Ashleigh Campbell, Brodie Taylor, Bronte Naylor, Catherine Parker, Dan Elborne, David Usher, Elysha Rei, Evan Hollis, Ian McCallum, Jennifer Wright-Summers, Kirsty Lee, Kyle Jenkins, Paddy Long & Laura Covely, Sandy Pottinger, Stephen Spurrier, Sue Lostroh, Tarn McLean & Tiffany Shaffran.