Teethy vaginas and cloth from actual half-made waistcoat made for Captain Cook by his wife (and then abandoned forever following his unfortunately fatal trip to Hawaii in 1779) lie in wait for all visitors to Vivienne Binns: On and through the Surface – the MCA’s radical retrospective of one of Australia’s most preeminent living painters.
Curated by Anneke Jaspers, the MCA’s Senior Curator, this glittering exhibition is a testament to Binns’ work over the past six decades, with it exploring her takes on sexuality, feminism, settler colonialism on the Pacific Rim and current modernity – and the myriad of intersections between all of them.
This totally free exhibition takes place in a specially designed space on level 3, with the bright white gallery surrounds peppered with an assortment of vibrant paintings of psychedelic sexuality, florid ceramics and obscure multi-sensory works that date from the ‘60s to today. You can see her scandalous renditions of genitalia, a brand new film made and produced by the MCA, as well as the many works produced during her time working in community art projects across regional Australia.
Binns’ art practice is heavily imbued with relics from a life of solo travel through the Pacific Islands, the Kimberly, regional Australia, Japan, Samoa and London. Her art seamlessly blends intricate details from all these disparate lands and cultures into singular expressions that manage to equally titillate, thrill and awe in their execution.
Expect creamy colours, expertly crafted details, the irreverent, strange and absurd, and above all, an emphasis on shining a distinctly feminist light on the forgotten women, feelings, artists and people who normally slip out of sight in traditional art spaces.
If you are in the mood to take a deep dive into the multifaceted and intriguing mind and work of one of Australia’s living national treasures, take yourself to the MCA from July 15 to September 25. You can find out more on their website, right here.
Pro tip: Make sure you read the art plaque descriptions. You won’t regret it.
