12–30 JULY, 2023, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Lennox St. Gallery presents Manifestation, an exhibition of new works by Paris-based artist Anthony White. Marking a new direction for the artist, Manifestation consists of a series of paintings responding to Sidney Nolan’s 1966 Eureka Stockade mural in which White reclaims the painterly gesture as a form of dissent. This is White's third solo show with the gallery, his first in the new space as Lennox St. Gallery and his first body of work made as a response to a single work of art.
White draws on new research into the 1854 Eureka Rebellion (Australia’s only ever armed civil uprising), the personal papers of Sidney Nolan and recent protest events in France, highlighting the increasing importance of his engagement with material, concept and history. Painted in France during a period marked by widespread public protests, these ten new works continue White’s wider thinking around the painterly gesture as a form of dissent, as well as the act of civil disobedience, or, in French, Manifestation – a protest, public event, action, or object which embodies an idea.
Following White’s recent creative fellowship at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, Manifestation responds to the anti-colonial spirit in Sidney Nolan’s Eureka Stockade mural, which White spent time with in Canberra at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery. Commissioned by the Reserve Bank ofAustralia, the mural depicts the pivotal event of the Victorian gold rush – a crucial point in Australia’s democratic history. White’s research into the papers of Sidney Nolan at the National Library, uncovered correspondence which reveals Nolan’s response to the only first hand account of the Eureka rebellion written by the Italian revolutionary Rafaello Carboni. Manifestation considers Nolan’s engagement with that European vision of the event, the legacy of Eureka and the development of a particular Australian psyche typified by a defence of democratic values.
Each work incorporates an event or individual element from the Eureka battle as depicted in the Nolan mural: Hotham incorporates imagery resembling mounted policemen; Eureka Hotel and the largest work 'Manifest (After Eureka)' (125 x 235 cm) depicts the epic destruction of Bentley’s Eureka Hotel caused by a fire started by rioting miners on the 12th of October 1854. In each work White finds equivalent ways of harnessing the energy and dissenting spirit of the battle.
“I went to the Nolan archive to capture this anti-colonial spirit inherent in some of the images of the mural to emphasise the sense of dissent but what struck me was the ethnic diversity of the period in Victoria. What I found was Chinese, Italian, African Americans, Jewish and Irish migrants revolting against the colonial government. It manifested as the Eureka Rebellion which became a crucial part of Australia’s engagement with democracy. In the current moment we are seeing the increasing relevance of civil disobedience in movements such as The Yellow Vests in France and groups like Extinction Rebellion protesting for climate change, increasing class inequalities or retirement ages. In my mind there is no doubt that the power of democracy is diminishing internationally and I feel we need to voice our discontent with government policies that infringe on personal liberty, especially the right to protest peacefully.” – Anthony White
For further press information, images and interview requests please contact: Eugene von Reisberg | eugene@lennoxst.gallery
Image:
Anthony White
Manifestation, 2023
Acrylic polymer on linen
120 x 150cm
Biography
Anthony White’s practice is committed to reclaiming the act of dissent through the production of cultural objects. His research is situated at the intersection of several fields, including politics, human rights, and post-colonialism. Concepts of design and its history as a form of social and political expression inform his approach to painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking. The references and materials he uses mark his predisposition for modernist aesthetics without this ever becoming the subject of his work. Through this practice, he tackles relevant questions to our time, to encourage emancipation and new ways of thinking.
White’s work has been widely exhibited in Australia, Europe, and Asia. Recent solo exhibitions include: Mobilising Material at The Mark Rothko Art Centre in Latvia in 2023, the largest exhibition of his work in Europe; The Curious Eye Never Runs Dry, Informality Gallery, Henley on Thames, U.K. (2019); Signs of Civilisation (2018) and Crossing the Rubicon (2016) both at Nanda Hobbs Contemporary, Sydney. His work has been included in over 50 group exhibitions internationally as well as major Australian art prizes including The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, The Elioth Gruner Prize, The John Glover Art Prize, and The Churchie Emerging Art Award. He has been the recipient of numerous art prizes including The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship (2007); The Creative Arts Fellowship at The National Library of Australia (2020); and his work has been reviewed in The Australia Financial Review, Art Collector Magazine, and Elle Décor.
He has also been awarded numerous prestigious residencies, including The Vermont Studio Centre Residency USA (2008); The National Art School Paris Studio Award at La Cite Internationale Des Arts (2009); The Leipzig International Art Programme Residency, Germany (2010;) and the International Painting Symposium at The Mark Rothko Centre in Latvia during (2017). And he has received support through cultural agencies such as The National Association for the Visual Arts; The Copyright Agency Limited; and The Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP). Anthony White’s work is held in public and private collections internationally, including the Mark Rothko Art Centre, Latvia; Soho House, London; and The Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre,Tweed Heads, Australia.
Artist Statement
"I was born in Australia and have been based in Paris since 2009. My research-based practice focuses on engagement, political awareness and social responsibility, particularly in relation to the current global immigration crisis. This research is combined with an approach to painting orientated around the use of colour as a vehicle through which to explore the nature of humanity. As an artist I am increasingly aware of art’s important role in the documentation and analysis of our changing society, its capacity to bear witness and offer an alternative view to that of our compromised media networks. My recent work has been a response to the state of mass surveillance and subversion in global politics, including A Curious Eye Never Runs Dry,Informality Gallery, Henley-on-Thames, U.K. (2019); and Signs of Civilisation, Nanda Hobbs, Sydney, Australia (2018)." - Anthony White
Portrait of the artist by Christophe Maizou. Copyright 2022, Paris
Open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday - 11am -5pm
