Kaliman Gallery is pleased to announce “The Exquisite Pirate”, a new exhibition by Sally Smart.
Sally Smart is one of the most significant contemporary Australian artists today, widely known for her large scale cut-out wall collages. Educated by the feminist discourses surrounding psychoanalytic theory, and informed by the anti-art movements of Dada and Surrealism. Smart’s installations explore identity politics, feminism, psychology, literature, Australian culture and corporeality.
Smart’s work places a practical and theoretical emphasis on the installation space, on mutable forms and methodologies of deconstruction and reconstruction. Her use of materials is integral to the conceptual unfolding of her work: the process of cutting, collage, photo-montage, staining, sewing and stitching – and their association with women’s practices – are refined and reassessed in the context of each installation.
“The Exquisite Pirate develops my ideas about the woman pirate as a metaphor for personal and social identity, cultural hybridity and immigration. The project initiated from a simple question – “were there any women pirates?” A google search revealed there were. Parallel to this was the seemingly huge growth in popular culture imagery connected to pirates and continuous reference of the word itself in the media as relating to cyberspace activities. In contemporary and historical Australia the boat and ship have loomed large around immigration issues and for me have become expressive, powerful images for postcolonial discourses.”
Sally Smart has maintained a significant presence within Australian contemporary art since the early nineties. She is represented in numerous public, private and corporate collections both within Australia and overseas, and has recently exhibited in New York, Miami, Costa Rica, London and throughout Australia.
