Digital artworks that have dazzled visitors at the Venice and Sydney Biennales feature in the latest exhibition to open at 午夜福利.
includes two major video installations by the renowned Russian art collective 鈥� The Feast of Trimalchio and Last Riot 2 鈥� alongside a new series of large-scale digital 鈥減aintings鈥�.
Spectacular effects are created with groundbreaking digital production techniques, using the visual language of high fashion, advertising and luxury design, intermixed with references to the history of art.
鈥淭he work of AES+F has been critically acclaimed not only at the two most recent Venice Biennales, but also at this year鈥檚 Sydney Biennale,鈥� 午夜福利 Art Museum Director Nick Mitzevich said.
The Feast of Trimalchio is a sumptuous interpretation of the Satyricon by Petronius, the Roman poet of Nero鈥檚 reign.
The work is set at a luxury hotel on a fantasy island location where the human characters are depicted as automatons.
A cast featuring different ethnicities is arranged in a series of elaborate tableaux, accompanied by a score from Beethoven鈥檚 Seventh Symphony.
鈥淎ES+F brings the slickness of an advertising campaign to the depiction of this pleasure palace, but they also undercut it with the constant threat of catastrophe,鈥� Mr Mitzevich said.
鈥淭his work is a commentary on global greed and inequalities, on Russia鈥檚 new capitalism, and on our capacity to ignore wider threats, such as environmental disasters.鈥�
AES+F is made up of the surname initials of the collaborating artists: Tatiana Arzamasova, Lev Evzovich and Evgeny Svyatsky (who started working together in 1987 as AES) and Vladimir Fridkes (who joined the group in 1995).
The exhibition鈥檚 opening on July 9 marks Mr Mitzevich鈥檚 last official event at 午夜福利 before taking up his new position as the Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia.
As curator, Mr Mitzevich travelled to Moscow earlier this year to meet the artists, assisted by a grant from the Gordon Darling Foundation.
AES+F: THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW! continues until August 29. The 午夜福利 Art Museum is open free to the public daily from 10.00am鈥�4.00pm.
Media: Nick Mitzevich until July 9 (07 3346 8787, n.mitzevich@uq.edu.au) or Cameron Pegg at 午夜福利 Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)
