For the exhibition The Hallelujah Chorus, Mike Parr has developed a number of large-scale prints and drawings, continuing the “Self-Portrait Project”. Through the repetitive nature of prints, as well as through the constant return to his own image, the self portrait refuses to be limited by representation and reference. They position the viewer, as well as the artist, at a point described by Parr as “privileged anonymity” – for Parr, the self-portrait becomes a place of emptiness. Parr’s investigations into the limits of both the body and the mind, played out across performance, print, drawing and sculpture, have been a major influence on contemporary art in Australia since the early 1970s. One of Australia’s pre-eminent and most challenging contemporary artists, his rigorous practice continues to be formally, physically and intellectually engaging. |
Mike Parr
The Hallelujah Chorus
24th June – 24th July 2010
Anna Schwartz Gallery