TURNER GALLERIES... 2009 EXHIBITIONS

www.geoffoverheu.com

Geoff has a close affinity with the land, living and farming on a rural property in Gingin. His artworks explore various relationships between ‘urban romantic’ and ‘rural’ Australia, engaging with images associated with landscape.

While the former may have images of vast landscapes with kangaroos, cockatoos and huge open skies, our rural iconography presents quite a contrast.

By combining a rural iconography with references to art history/theory, Geoff’s works synthesize new ideas regarding our attitudes towards the Australian landscape. For example, the notion of ‘Pop Ecology’, which is a humorous homage to Andy Warhol’s parody of consumer desire and is underpinned by an irony that emphasizes our continued over-use and consumption of the land and our absurd illusion that things will be okay.

Geoff uses a wide range of materials to create his sculptures, from plaster to bronze. Some works draw directly from art history, such as the plaster inflatable kangaroo that sadly holds a deflating companion, echoing the famous pieta by Michelangelo. Tragic and humorous, this combination of unusual objects and materials is an exploration of specific themes that entices a response from the viewer. Presenting such images in a popular culture format will encourage his audience to draw new meanings and perhaps have a new perspective on the Australian landscape.

Geoff studied at Central TAFE, went on to do a BA at Curtin University and followed this with an Honours Degree from the VCA in Melbourne in 2004. His works can be found in the collections of Central TAFE, ARM Architects, Glick International and many private collections across Australia.

everybody knows the dice are loaded bronze 10 x 70 x 6cm 2008 $440 each or $4,400 set
everybody knows about the absence of meaning bronze dimensions variable [26cm max height] 2009 $5,500	let me see your beauty when the witnesses have gone plastic, fake diamond, hair 50 x 45 x 36cm 2009 $1,800 sold
three bronze dead cows bronze [unique state] 25 x 16 x 40cm [x3] 2009 $2,400
the lack of memory in the field of dreams plastic, steel, fabric 275 x 190 x 60cm 2009 $6,600	my vanity is greater than my misery plastic, steel, fabric 275 x 190 x 60cm 2009 $6,600
the lack of memory in the land of plenty plastic, steel, mixed media 184 x 70 x 60cm 2008 $4,400	mater et infans bovine plastic, steel 290 x 220 x 25cm 2008 $6,600
everybody knows the fight was fixed plastic, bronze, steel 115 x 50 x 110cm 2009 $3,300	la pieta macropoda plastic, steel 115 x 80 x 120cm 2008 $3,300
everybody knows that's how it goes plastic, steel, lace 145 x 100 x 20cm 2008 $5,500