Awesome Shows to See

I've been to a few lovely shows recently,
and I've also missed a few.

It irks me that I didn't see the Thomas Demand show almost as much as it saddens me that people didn't make it to some exhibitions that I thought were amazing.  Too many thoughts on the past however, brings too little action in the present.  Rather than moulder in my sadness I've decided to try more actively recommending some great shows.

Best show(s) so far can be seen at:

Tin Sheds Gallery

148 City Road
Part of University of Sydney
Architecture, Design and Planning

Now showing

Červená Voda (Red Water) by Nathan Babet 

Chances are if you like tree houses, watch towers and camping grounds you'll like Nathan Babet's show at Tin Shed's.  A heady combination of video, installation and performance Babet's work transforms half of the gallery into part-fictional part-factual wood working space.  Pine trees collected by Babet (shown in the videos) are installed in the gallery space to evoke a forest-like setting.  In which Babet, over the period of a month, builds a working wooden watch tower.  The work has deep roots in Babet's European family ancestry, but even without any knowledge of familial, cultural or geographical specifics the work retains an immediate relationship to nostalgia, mythologies, and the quiet and sometimes subtle menace of the forest. 

‘We need you, you need us’ – Curated by Georgie Meagher

Taking up the other half of Tin Sheds is a group show consisting of Paul Gazzola, Dara Gill, Agatha Gothe-Snape, Sebastian Moody and Lara Thoms, curated by Georgie Meagher.  There is a subtle humor which underlies each work, and as a result there is an overriding playfulness in the artists' response to the curatorial theme of 'Economy'.  Taking a step back and working with simple exchanges and relationships with money, chance, production and success, 'We need you, you need us' avoids any anxiety or vanity that could cloud an exhibition based on an artist's place in the capitalist economy.  It is a fun show with interactive elements, clean reduced work, and great installation.

Luckily both shows exist in one location, rarely is there a better two-for-one deal for those with little time on their hands but starved of a good art show.  The exhibitions are on till the 19th of May, the gallery is open 11-5pm Tuesday to Saturday.