Photography, objects and antiques come together for the National Gallery of Victoria鈥檚, Melbourne, encyclopaedic display Patrick Pound: The Great Exhibition. The New Zealand born artist is fascinated by the process of categorisation, his work suggesting that meaning can be found in the accumulation of items. Drawing on personal archives, which amassed over years of meticulous searching, Pound reorders the fragments of everyday life into complex compositions addressing issues of contemporary society. This method transforms the banal into poetic and insightful reflections on the human condition.
The Great Exhibition showcases more than 50 assemblies 鈥 described as a 鈥渕useum of things鈥 鈥 featuring hundreds of items from the practitioner鈥檚 private gatherings. Furthermore, he extensively researched the NGV鈥檚 departments, incorporating more than 300 pieces from the gallery鈥檚 diverse holdings. In this combination of material, connections between the artefacts and artworks become apparent, allowing audiences to see the organisation鈥檚 acquisitions in new contexts and perspectives.
Tony Ellwood, Director, comments: 鈥淭hrough complex arrangements of items drawn from the artist鈥檚 archives alongside works from the NGV Collection, Pound鈥檚 installations playfully explore the art of collecting, and the ways in which things can hold and project ideas. Within each, a new logic or exciting narrative is created for the viewer to unravel or identify.鈥
In some collections, Pound pairs contrasting items in a contemplation of juxtaposing concepts. In The Museum of there / Not there a selection of items, including an archaic Australian $2 banknote, a mourning locket and a milk jug produced to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VIII, who abdicated, are curated to explore the ideas of absence and presence. Amongst these 鈥渕useums鈥, visitors encounter vast displays of images, each revealing a common thread. In The hand of the photographer, the practitioner鈥檚 eclipsing thumb is ever-present, whereas in Damaged, each has been defaced, ripped or burned. The show is part of NGV鈥檚 inaugural Festival of Photography, a series of events celebrating the medium.
Patrick Pound: The Great Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, from 31 March – 30 July.
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Credits
1. Patrick Pound, The Great Exhibition. Courtesy of the artist and the NGV.
