Body Horror
Mark Friedlander, Aaron Hoffman, Lou Hubbard, Kari Lee McInneny McRae
31 Jul–24 Aug 2024
Through the vernacular of horror films, Body Horror looks at the very real fears that come along with acknowledging our bodies’ fragility and porosity. Each artist in this exhibition negotiates a compulsion to approach physical threat in the pursuit of their artistic practice, revealing, variously, a fascination with the boundaries between safety and risk, between body and environment, and between self-care and conformity. Centred around the relationships between bodies and the innumerable environmental impacts we encounter, this exhibition’s horrors are played out in the anticipation of a jump scare, uncanny bodily mutations and realisations that the world is not built to meet our needs. There is, however, hope in facing these fears, pushing boundaries until they puncture and fail, and creating art over and over again despite the uncertainty and pain its creation might entail.
Through the vernacular of horror films, Body Horror looks at the very real fears that come along with acknowledging our bodies’ fragility and porosity.
This exhibition’s horrors are played out in the anticipation of a jump scare, uncanny bodily mutations and realisations that the world is not built to meet our needs.
This program takes place on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded - this land is stolen land. We pay respects to Wurundjeri Elders, past, present and emerging, to the Elders from other communities and to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders who might encounter or participate in the program.
Mark Friedlander's practice is interested in the making and representation of sculpture and sculptural space. As a PhD candidate with the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, this Blindside work belongs to his body of research which uses performance to examine the aesthetic effect of risk management in art practice.
Aaron Hoffman is an artist living and working in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. His practice encompasses installation, site intervention, digital media, and sculpture. Hoffman’s art probes the intricacies of survival, absurdity, and the interconnection between identity and sexuality. Aaron’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Australia and overseas. He holds a masters in visual art from the University of Melbourne and is currently pursuing a PhD at Deakin University.
Lou Hubbard uses various media, from any discipline, to examine the nature of training, submission, and subordination. Basic materials of domestic and institutional utility—very often personal objects—are tried and tested, then shaped into formal relationships. Objects are subjected to various modes of control and duress through which they must submit to her rules, and emotional resonances are drawn out through careful selection and placement of these found and readily-at-hand materials.
Lou Hubbard teaches in the School of Art, VCA and is represented by Sarah Scout Presents Melbourne.
Kari Lee McInneny McRaeKari Lee McInneny-McRae would like to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which they work; the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations. Kari would like to pay their respect to elders both past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded on this land. It is a privilege to make and exhibit art on these Countries. As a settler, Kari acknowledges their implicit role in the invasion, colonization and occupation of the stolen lands on which they work. This land was and always will be Aboriginal land .
Brigit Ryan (she/her) is a sculptor, educator and curator in contemporary art and design living and working in Naarm Melbourne. She is a Director of BAProjects and Engagement Coordinator at Gertrude Contemporary. She holds a MFA (Visual Art) and a BFA (Honours) from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Design from RMIT University. Brigit is passionate about inclusion and access in the arts and building sustainable creative communities. Her creative practice is concerned with systems of comprehension and human engagement with the built environment.