The dose of pop-culture heavy experience the Gold Coast has needed
Unleashed on Fri 17 December, Art Mixtape: Yours for Summer reignites the rebellious spirit of the Gold Coast and brings it to HOTA with a bang.
#The Exhibition
Walking into the exhibition to the sounds of Lady Gaga (thank you Michael Zavros’ We Dance In The Studio (To That Shit On The Radio)), you’re taken to a bold and bright, world of contemporary art.
With pop-culture stop-overs throughout the space, you’ll be taken from lyrics of Gaga through to famous film characters running in an open-ended abyss in Daniel McKewan’s Running Men. From Running Men drift along with the rising energy and arrive at The Was – a collaboration between New York-based masterminds Soda Jerk and Melbourne gang The Avalanches.
A mixture of infectious nostalgic energy, collaging highlights from the films that gave us our sense of style, music taste and sense of humour, The Was has become a cult obsession with gallery visitors. A sample-based video for today, that mines the films of the past, the experimental film is part artwork, part music video and part concept album.
Acting Head of Curatorial Projects, Bradley Vincent, the architect behind Art Mixtape: Yours for Summer, absolutely had to have The Was featured in the exhibition:
‘The artwork feels instantly familiar, taking over 170 films that we all might recognise but then creates its own universe out of the material. Watching it is a shared experience – which is beautiful. We all bring to it our own memories – recalling films that were important to us – and seeing these familiar moments up on the big screen in a new context feels really exciting.’
‘Ultimately, ‘The Was’ celebrates a rebellious spirit and takes those movie moments that celebrate the rebel and rat bag, which is something that represents our city, and that our show tries to emulate.’
Taking our role as Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts to heart, Art Mixtape: Yours for Summer has taken the world we live in and the artists who capture the essence of our city’s personality and strength and brought it to you live and in technicolour.
This is an exhibition you won’t regret visiting (it’s free after all). Dive into the world of The Was and experience art the way the Gold Coast would want it – with loads of colour, loads of talent, and loads of moments that will leave you reinvigorated for the year ahead.
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