Luke Roberts, Adolf, 2008, photographic performance
The curtain rises in August on the much-anticipated Luke Roberts exhibition Kunstkamera – an overview at Anna Pappas Gallery. This extensive presentation incorporates both floors of the gallery and includes photography, painting, video, sculpture and found objects providing a broad overview of the career of this icon of Australian art.
Major works from the AlphaStation/Alphaville series shown at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2010) and the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney (2011) will be on display as well as works from Roberts’ AMOROMA project resulting from his 2012 residency at the renowned British School at Rome.
Of course, no exhibition of Roberts’ work would be complete without highlighting his strong performance history. Over four decades Roberts has developed a world of elaborate mythology and multiple personas. Images of and items belonging to his most famous persona, Pope Alice, as well as some of Roberts’ other notable personas will feature in the exhibition. This year marks a significant milestone for Roberts’ celebrated persona Alice Jitterbug, who first visited the National Gallery of Victoria forty years ago in 1974. This timely overview contains a live performance element, an unorthodox occurrence within the commercial gallery setting yet one integral to the artist’s oeuvre and especially relevant during this historic anniversary.
Luke Roberts MFA was the Australian Fellow at PS1 MoMA, New York (1996-97). During the 1980s he lived in Amsterdam, Paris, Kassel and Berlin. He was an Australian representative in the 2nd Asia-Pacific Triennial (1996) and the Biennale of Sydney (2002). The National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, QAGOMA, and the Renia Sofia have collected his work. Luke was born in Alpha, Central Queensland his practice is concerned with constructs of history and gender and investigates marginalization and spirituality. HDH Pope Alice, his visionary performance persona, embodies his aspirations.