A L E X G A W R O N S K I

Scenery

Alex Gawronski, Scenery, 2013

‘Camouflage Cultures’, Sydney Collage of the Arts (SCA) galleries
(MDF, timber, acrylic, sand, hinges, fan, sound [of scratching])

Responding to the theme of camouflage, Scenery considered the gallery itself as the most insistent example of camouflage within the art world. Today, the space of the gallery persists in being regarded, irrespective of serious art historical challenges to the contrary, as a neutral, even invisible space. Through constructing a false partition running across the back and part of the sidewalls of the gallery space, a counter narrative was established. This narrative hinted at a secret ‘other’ space behind-the-scenes and forever out of view of the actual exhibition space. The amplified sound of scratching and the subtle though constant flow of air issuing from the small doorway, conjured a dual sense of mystery and entrapment that aimed to undermine traditional notions of the gallery’s unquestionable spatial and philosophical integrity.