REW HANKS WORK IN ‘ON THE BEACH’ AT MORNINGTON PENINSULA REGIONAL GALLERY UNTIL 28 FEBRUARY 2016
By Nicholas Thompson | January 17, 2016 | Comments Off on REW HANKS WORK IN ‘ON THE BEACH’ AT MORNINGTON PENINSULA REGIONAL GALLERY UNTIL 28 FEBRUARY 2016
ON THE BEACH A Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery exhibition
11 December 2015 – 28 February 2016
On the Beach considers the place of the beach within Australian life. A public space of recreation and leisure, the beach epitomises the liberties of Australia’s democratic society. While in the lead up to Federation many 19th century artists looked to the bush to galvanise a fledging nationalism, by the mid-20th century this had shifted and increasingly the beach became the site of Australian identity. The exhibition considers this history in light of the Cronulla race riots. 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the riots and provides an opportunity for reflection about these events and the significance of the beach as the place where tensions boiled over.
Bringing together over 75 works, including paintings and photographs by some of Australia’s acclaimed Modernists, together with works by contemporary artists, the exhibition considers the ways in which people relate to the beach, its place in understandings of national identity and its history as a contested site.
Includes works by Arthur Boyd, Gordon Bennett, Daniel Boyd, George Caddy, Max Dupain, Rennie Ellis, Charles Meere, Tracey Moffatt, David Moore, Sidney Nolan, Polixeni Papapetrou, John Perceval, Scott Redford, Jeffrey Smart, Albert Tucker, Guan Wei and Anne Zahalka.
