Shaun Gladwell: Homo Suburbiensis
⬤ Anna Schwartz Gallery 6 Feb - 24 Apr 2021
One constant in a world of variables
A man alone in the evening in his patch of vegetables
— Bruce Dawe, “Homo Suburbiensis” (1964)
I’m not sure what it means to anyone, the title, but I like the Latin kind of reflection on the suburban human. But also, it’s a poem that, um, an Australian poet wrote that, you know, means a lot to me personally. So that’s the kind of reason why I use that title.
— Shaun Gladwell, “The Drawing Room with Patricia Karvelas: Running Away with Shaun Gladwell”, ABC Radio National (2021)
Australian artist Shaun Gladwell rose to fame just over two decades ago. Maintaining an international presence since, his work is typically lauded for its incorporation of urban subcultural practices, art-historical references and stunning cinematic quality. Homo Suburbiensis, currently on display at Anna Schwartz Gallery, continues these investigations, but there are crucial differences. Accompanied by a selection of paintings, a new video work of the same name provides a more probing exploration of the body and its physical limits.
Tara Heffernan is a PhD candidate (Art History) at the University of Melbourne. Her thesis concerns the work of post-war Italian artist Piero Manzoni—specifically, the political and cultural dimensions of his employment of humour and transgression in relation to capitalist aesthetics. Heffernan’s broader research interests include class politics, feminism and the lineages of modernism and the avant-gardes in contemporaneity.
