Artists

Artist Mike Parr

Born 1945 in Sydney, Australia. Lives and works in Sydney.
  • Artist | Mike ParrMike Parr
    Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi, 2003
    Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery: Sydney and Melbourne

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In the derelict and dilapidated building of the former sailors’ quarters and naval ‘academy’ on Cockatoo Island, Mike Parr theatrically stages a presentation of 17 of his most daring and demanding performances since he began exploring the field in 1971 to test the emotional and physical limits of the human body. This dramatic installation on Cockatoo Island, titled ‘MIRROR/ARSE’, presents filmic documentation of his performance works in a deliberately episodic and disconnected way, as the viewer enters into corridors and rooms with peeling walls, collapsed ceilings, undisturbed rubbish and pools of water. Just as the viewer’s encounter with the architecture of the space is traumatic, so do Parr’s works explore trauma and subjectivity. Parr, in the great Expressionist tradition, denounces and is outraged by the brutality of the world we live in. He is revolted by it, and creates poignant artworks where the viewer is confronted with revolting situations, hopefully achieving turns that form consciousness.