graham miller

playing the man

20 september - 19 october 2019

• sean gorman, graham miller - playing the man 2019

• exhibition preview night speeches 19 september 2019

Childhood memories are the trigger for Miller's new series Playing the Man.

These playful and humorous images are a celebration of football and a nostalgic look at the past. Referencing bubble gum footy cards from the 1970's and 80's, and Rennie Ellis's iconic image of Robbie McGhie, Miller recreates himself as boyhood football heroes to explore issues of masculinity, identity, and cultural difference. Compared to today's highly stylised and groomed celebrities on Instagram and social media, footy luminaries on cards from this period are refreshingly unmanicured. Larrikin grins, dishevelled hair, hammed up poses and indifferent photography coalesce into comical portraits which defy the revered status with which these players were held. Hard men look surprisingly soft. Miller emphasizes the absurdity through the use of masquerade, using it as a strategy to question ingrained ideals of Australian masculinity and to comment on the difficulties of conforming to traditional notions of Australianness growing up as a person of mixed heritage.

"I came to boarding school in Perth aged ten in 1977. Hong Kong born, half-Chinese, English-accented and tiny. I was the smallest person in the boarding house, even though there were boys two years younger than me. I felt like I had been 'beamed in' from another planet. It was a Sunday when I arrived, and the introduction to Australian ritual began immediately. World Series cricket on the telly and Countdown at 6pm with Pussyfoot and Leo Sayer. Come winter time, it was "The Winners" with Drew Morphett. The TV room packed with country boys waiting for Mark of the Day, Goal of the Day and Play of the Day. Malcolm Blight and Bernie "The Superboot" Quinlan, Ken Hunter and Leigh Matthews, The Flying Dutchman and the Flying Doormat. Hard men chasing an oval ball. It was tough to relate. These were the Aussie male heroes to aspire to. They didn't look much like me. Luckily in the WAFL there was Les Fong, a well-respected and courageous footballer of Chinese heritage that I could pretend to be. I never got any good at football. I played hockey, or as the boys at school used to call it 'dicky-whackers'.

Graham Miller
August 2019

 

*all prices are framed prices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ken hunter archival pigment print on ilford pearl 310gsm 100 x 100cm 2019 $2,900 sold 1/6	peter moore after Collingwood grand final loss, 1981 archival pigment print on canson rag photographique 310gsm 100 x 71cm 2019 $2,600
graham moss, 1976 Brownlow Medalist archival pigment print on canson rag photographique 310gsm 60 x 49cm 2019 $1,300	'bones' robert mcghie, 1974 archival pigment print on canson rag photographique 310gsm 73 x 49cm 2019 $1,500
'the flying doormat' bruce doull, 1975 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	'hungry' kevin bartlet, 1974 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
'lethal' leigh matthews, 1978 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100 sold 1/6 to lawrence wilson art gallery	'mick' michael turner, 1978 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100 sold 1/6 to lawrence wilson art gallery
'plod' emmett dunne, 1982 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	'rick' ray shaw archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
'sticks' stephen kernahan, 1989 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	'the budgie' tony buhagiar, 1982 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
'the flying dutchman' paul vander haar, 1982 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	'the galloping gasometer' mick nolan, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100 sold 1/6 to lawrence wilson art gallery, 2/6
'the hulk' rene kink, 1982 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	barry breen, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
garry padley, 1978 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	'superboot' bernie quinlan, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
brad hardie, 1981 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	david cloke, 1982 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
david dench, 1975 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	doug gott, 1977 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
garry dempsey, 1974 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	geoff southby, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
'choppy' les fong, 1981 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	john byrne, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
lee adamson, 1973 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	malcolm blight, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
mike fitzpatrick, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	peter featherby, 1981 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
'robbie' robert flower, 1977 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	ron alexander, 1978 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100 sold 1/6 to lawrence wilson art gallery
val perovic, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	vin catoggio, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100 sold 1/6 to lawrence wilson art gallery
warwick capper, 1988 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	wayne primmer, 1979 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100 sold 1/6 to lawrence wilson art gallery
bernie jones, 1975 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100	mal brown, 1975 archival pigment print on canson infinity platine fibre rag 310gsm 59.4 x 42cm 2019 $1,100
ken hunter plate ceramic plate 20cm diameter 2019 $175 sold 1/20	les fong plate ceramic plate 20cm diameter 2019 $175 sold 1/20, 2/20, 3/20
brad hardie plate ceramic plate 20cm diameter 2019 $175 sold 1/20, 2/20	stubby holders in five designs 2019 $10 each
mick nolan stubby holder 2019 $10 each	bernie quinlan stubby holder 2019 $10 each