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These words by Lewis Carrell, taken from Sasi Victoire's recent exhibition, Alice in the Interface, present a stinging but alarmingly relevant allegorical reference to cultural values in contemporary Australia. What 'madness' indeed, that a society founded on colonialism and migration, has itself become so intolerant of difference, and is disturbingly self-righteous about the emergence of discriminatory culture hierarchies.
This paradox is an underpinning theme of Alice in the interface, a personal and complex visual narrative about migration, displacement and the search for personal identity in the 'interface' between cultures. In the exhibition, the familiar allegorical framework of selected illustrations and texts from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, are interspersed with family portraits and personal memorabilia to examine the artist's Indian culture heritage, her childhood in the British colony of Malaysia, and her subsequent migration to Australia as a young adult. Drawing, painting, print-making, machine embroidery, collage, applique and computer generated imagery applied to suspended panels of silk fabric, are all used to introduce events and ideas. The show's muted colours contribute to a prevailing sense of suppression throughout the exhibition.
The general effect of this use of mixed media is to create a diverse tapestry of cultural motifs representative of the artist's own experiences and transitions while moving between changing cultural boundaries, particularly the 'miscegenation' of disparate lndian/Anglo values and lifestyle. As such, Alice in the Interface presents a perspective of white Australia that has had limited previous expression in the 'Far North', despite the region's diverse cultural make up.
Entry into the circular exhibition space is through a small parting between golden-tasselled silk panels, surrounded by brightly gilded (aluminium) mango leaves, traditional Indian symbols for 'good luck'. This