Brisbane has a paucity of decent spaces to exhibit in, so ambitious and motivated artists just graduating from art school are using their domestic residences as independent art spaces. These galleries provide an alternative platform for works and practices that are not always supported by the commercial gallery system. A recent example of the genre is the artist-run initiative Accidentally Annie Street Space (AASS), which operates from the founders’ weatherboard Queenslander home.
This unassuming residence was the venue for ‘Renovare’ an exhibition curated by Stephen Russell (co-director of AASS). For one-night only the house was cleared of its contents and fitted with the works of four emerging Brisbane artists (including Russell). The idea behind the show was to present site-specific works that experimented with the idiosyncrasies of the space.
On nearing the house, from street level one came upon Russell’s Love, which was a kind of shopfront sign that was placed on the roof. It consisted of an illuminated set of letters (LOVE) made from fibreboard. It resembled Robert Indiana’s 1976 pop sculpture of the same name and was based on the style of the equally iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign. Without the profile of the Hollywood hills to publicise his idea, Russell made do by aligning his version with the peak of the home’s (corrugated) roofline. The luminous silhouette of this structure created a striking contrast to the night sky and elicited an awesome and theatrical chiaroscuro-like effect. Given this powerful visual effect, Love also captured the attention of neighbouring residents whose curiosity led them to survey the exhibition.
After negotiating Love one encountered the oneiric video work Slushie by Cait Foran. This video piece was projected into