Kez Hughes ‘The Full Picture’
Man of My Dreams exhibition poster and at the exhibition listening to the New Wavers
Kez Hughes is painting. Perhaps not at this very minute… what I mean is, she is painting. She’s an apothecary of knowledge in her field, her studio a study in precision – an orderly and extensive array of paints, brushes, tubs and tubes at her disposal. True to previous form, Hughes continues her meticulous record in this series of three large paintings, documenting the documentation of art in Melbourne. The word synecdoche comes to mind. And an idea that here too, like in the movie, a replica is set to replace the subject, and become the subject, simultaneously doing something to preserve the original for historical reference.In Charlie Kaufman’s New York, an actor asks ‘When are we gonna get an audience in here? It’s been 17 years.’ You don’t have to wait so long. For now a contemporary history, Hughes’ dedication and persistence to this ongoing body of work will also reap real rewards down the track as the exceptionally skilled painter captures a picture of our time.
I knew Hughes as a curator before I knew her as a painter. Lou and I went to see a show she and her partner staged out West, in an obscure venue off a highway in the very flat lands behind the bay, surrounded by the remnants of industry. The show, called 'Man of My Dreams', was tight, fun and topical given the ongoing dickery of then opposition leader Tony Abbott, which drew PM Julia Gillard on something you'd rather hoped wouldn't need saying. But in 2012, it very much seemed we'd back peddled to such a point that it did need saying, so this is what she said:
In the accompanying catalogue essay Peta Mayer wrote: ‘Masculinity is Tony Abbott walking away from an interviewer’s question.' Which is a sad prognosis for Australian politics and sad for men who like women and sad for women who like their men 'manly'. Dumb pig-headedness is not exactly what we had in mind... Anyway, the exhibition cast a wider spectrum and was a true tribute to men of all colours. The New Wavers' 'CD' Neuters was my favourite discovery. It was my first experience of Greg Wadley's satirical music project, which was like an aural version of reading David Foster Wallace. If you're into obscure music history and web1.0 design, check out his website, the New Waver bandcamp, and this possibly dodgy link to listen to tracks from Neuters.
So I was super excited to learn that Hughes would be opening a space in the Nicholas building, Melbourne at the start of 2015. Named Caves, the project runs shows on-site and off-site through their side project called Caves - Offsite :) I encourage you to check out their shows. Kez has an excellent eye for conceptual sensibility and skill.
Kez Hughes' Chapter House Installation view and her work replicating a Peter Atkins' exhibition at Greenaway Gallery, Adelaide