'Finders keepers' were the operative words for Facsimile. Curated by Stuart Koop for the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Facsimile included six artists who incorporate found objects into their work. The exhibition presented a 'mix-and-match' collection of everyday objects from the discarded notes one might find squashed between the seats of a bus, or an empty coke can thrown into an overflowing rubbish bin, to an ancient poem whispering from the faded memories of history. Each work was a 'facsimile ' of the original and blurred the distinction between the 'real ' object and the deliberate copy.
Christopher Langton offered the highlight of the exhibition with Souvenir 1999. Exuding the appeal of a vibrant jumping castle at a fair ground, Souvenir initially appeared as a sedate group of blow-up national icons sitting inside the gallery door. Cute and brightly coloured, three identical fluorescent yellow koalas were positioned around the feet of a towering eight foot grey kangaroo with eyes of Aryan blue. Each of these PVC vinyl structures was filled with a constant flow of air from a vacuum pump inserted discreetly into an opening beneath its rear haunches. The hum and vibration of each tiny engine inside the inflation device made the animals shake and shiver as if they were cold, exceedingly angry or 'alive' and about to multiply. Watching these larger than life native icons vibrate menacingly on the floor, drew one's attention to the red eyes and sharp pointy claws of the koalas and resulted in a sudden desire to swiftly move away because of the slight suspicion the plastic creatures would suddenly attack. Mirroring the cuddly Australian animals found in tourist stores around the country, Langton's