AS THE SLEEPER WAKES Anthony White
05 MAY - 28 MAY 2016
1214 HIGH ST. ARMADALE, VIC 3143 T: +61 3 9500 8511 F: +61 3 9500 8599 E: admin@metrogallery.com.au www.metrogallery.com.au
Printed in Melbourne, Australia (2016) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the producers. Š Anthony White (Artwork) Š Metro Gallery 978-1-921618-41-3
Apocalypse New Words by Ashley Crawford Shortly following the end of the Second World War a revolutionary art movement in Japan called Gutai emerged. The Gutai Bijutsu Kyokai (Gutai Art Association) was formed in 1954 in Osaka by Jiro Yoshihara, Akira Kanayma, Saburo Murakami, Kazuo Shiraga and Shozo Shimamoto. With its anarchistic edge it was, in part, a response to the years of arch conservatism under totalitarian rule during the war. In some ways shadows of this marvelously reactionary group can be seen in the manic activities of Anthony White. An Australian, living in Paris, White creates his works via materials scavenged from the Parisian subways and the results hint at the exuberance of New York’s graffiti movement in the 1980s. It also shares something of the protest-sensibility of the Gutai, but where the Gutai were protesting the conservatism of totalitarianism, White can arguably be seen as protesting the dry pseudo-intellectualism of much postmodern art. In many ways White’s affiches reflect another sensibility that is all too relevant today; that of the dystopian. It is nigh impossible to dispute that we live in dystopic times. Our cultures – Western and Eastern alike – are awash with apocalyptic imagery, whether political, cultural, environmental or religious. The End of the World seems to be catch-cry for the new century. However apocalyptic imagery has been a concern for humans for time immemorial. Aptly, amongst the plethora of inspirations in White’s arsenal, in this series the artist has called on the dystopian 1910 science fiction novel by H.G Wells The Sleeper Awakes. In Wells’ tale his protagonist sleeps for two hundred and three years, awakening in a transformed London, where, due to the interest on his bank accounts, he has become the richest man in the world. But also, to his horror, the future is governed by a totalitarian organisation ruling in his name. It is not difficult to imagine the graffiti on the walls protesting against the government in Wells’ world, perhaps not unlike those that once sported the Berlin Wall – an aesthetic not that far removed from that of the Gutai or, for that matter, Anthony White’s new works. White’s painterly use of Paris subway advertisements reflects his fascination with communication technologies. Before the era of Facebook, posters were a mass-communication device par excellence and were inescapable in the confined environs of the subway. “Their original purpose was as a form of mass media,” says White. “They existed as a collective form of communication in a public space. Often they become vandalised and half torn down, tagged with gestural lines and people’s marks, these ‘affiches’ now become a more personal form of communication. The origin of the gestural line, and its original role as a form of dissent – essentially acts as a form of social communication.” Although the shift from advertisement to artwork may suggest a Warhol-esque alteration, the resulting aesthetic could not be further removed. White acts more as an Apocalyptic Duchampian, using found objects and manipulating both their context and communicative powers. In the process he creates new forms of language. White’s beautifully layered images suggest museum quality relics from a post apocalyptic future; items carefully pried from the rubble to remind us that freedom can still be achieved via the gesture. Or, as the Parisian Situationists were wont to proclaim, beneath the pavement lies the beach.
Rubicon, 2016, oil on linen, 150 x 120 cm
Aerial, 2016, oil on linen, 107.5 x 121 cm
As The Sleeper Wakes II, 2016, oil on linen 122 x 122.5 cm
The White Council, 2016, oil on board, 121 x 91 cm
The Return Of Ostrog, 2016, oil on board, 121.5 x 91 cm
Cartel, 2016, oil on linen, 94.5 x 94 cm
As The Sleeper Wakes I, 2016, oil on linen, 122 x 123 cm
Song Of The Revolt And The Seven Sisters, 2016, oil on linen, 151 x 120.5 cm
Enclave, 2016, oil on linen, 150 x 120 cm
Mr Isbister, 2016, oil on linen,122.5 x 122.5 cm
The Hall Of The Atlas II, 2016, oil on linen, 119 x 79.5 cm
The Hall Of The Atlas I, 2016, oil on linen, 121 x 76 cm
Eyrie, 2016, oil on linen, 95 x 73 cm
AS THE SLEEPER WAKES Catalogue List
Enclave, 2016, oil on linen, 150 x 120 cm
Song of the Revolt and the Seven Sisters, 2016, oil on linen, 151 x 120.5 cm
The White Council, 2016, oil on linen, 121 x 91 cm
The Hall Of The Atlas II, 2016, oil on linen, 119 x 79.5 cm
Cartel, 2016, oil on linen, 94.5 x 94 cm
As The Sleeper Wakes I, 2016, oil on linen 122 x 123 cm
Mr Isbister, 2016, oil on linen 122 x 122.5 cm
The Return of Ostrog, 2016, oil on linen, 121.5 x 91 cm
Rubicon, 2016, oil on linen, 150 x 120 cm
As The Sleeper Wakes II, 2016, oil on linen 122 x 122.5 cm
The Hall Of The Atlas I, 2016, oil on linen, 121 x 76 cm
Eyrie, 2016, oil on linen 95 x 73 cm
Aerial, 2016, oil on linen, 107.5 x 121 cm