‘Still Life Now’ considers the way artists today are drawing on the ideas of the still life tradition to create contemporary commentary on the nature of life and existence — including the memento mori (the stoic visual reminder of the inevitability of death) and the vanitas still life (the use of elaborate spreads to highlight the transience of life and excess).
By approaching the still life as a platform for transformative thinking and new conversations, the artists bring together themes of preservation, stillness, transformation and opulence across painting, sculpture and time-based media to engage with contemporary cultural and political issues and promote social change.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a screening program at the Australian Cinémathèque, GOMA.
Image: Michael Cook, Bidjara people, Australia b.1968 / Blackbird (from ‘Nature Morte’ series) (detail) 2021 Epson UltraChrome K3 inks on Hahnamuhle Photo Rag Bright White 310 gsm paper / Purchased 2021. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Cook
