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My
Xerox Weighs a
Tonne
25
July - 31 August,
2003
Tue - Sun: 11.00am - 6.00pm
Galleries One, Two and Foyer
Long-standing but constantly reinvented products of
youth culture, the fly poster and the zine have
always thrown the notion of authorship into
question. Whether subverting media imagery or
hijacking the medium itself, these low-budget
posters and amateur publications are often produced
anonymously, or at the very least attributed to
aliases, tags and pseudonyms.
My Xerox Weighs a Tonne presents the work
of 25 photographers and artists from the diverse
backgrounds: Asian skate culture, American graffiti
art, Australian underground and more. Curators
Misha Hollenbach and Shauna Toohey,
the creative team behind the internationally
acclaimed Melbourne-based PAM design label, have
re-worked and re-interpreted the contributions of
the artists on show into a total-concept
environment of photocopied posters, video
projections and zines. Rounding off ACP's season at
the interface of art and popular culture, My
Xerox Weighs a Tonne challenges preconceptions
about artistic authority, curatorial objectivity
and the role of the art gallery in general.
Built
for Speed: a brief history of the
photocopier
Little did Law Student Chester Carlson know that
when he invented the first electrostatic copier in
1938, he was firing the first shot in a revolution
in alternative publishing. At that time, radical
artists and thinkers were forced to seek out
wealthy benefactors or party apparatchiks to cover
their bills at the printers, while science fiction
fans had to rely on slow and cumbersome mimeographs
to produce their amateur publications, soon to be
dubbed 'fanzines'. Carlson had some difficulty
finding investors for his project, and it was not
until 1949 that the first, rather complicated Xerox
machine became commercially available. Although the
fully automatic Xerox 914 brought simplicity and
speed to the office in 1959, a hefty price-tag and
a starchy corporate culture dictated that it would
still be some time before young clerks starved of
creative outlets "working back" after hours could
unleash its true subversive potential.
It was the Do-It-Yourself ethic of punk that
finally brought xerographic technology and the
underground press together in 1976. Bank clerk Mark
P.'s Sniffin' Glue was the first punk zine
to exploit the affordability and accessibility of
the photocopier, and its cut-up style,
confrontational politics and irresistible
enthusiasm set the benchmark for the flood of
clandestine publications that was to follow. Along
with the zine, the black and white A4 fly poster
(which could conveniently double as a handbill)
soon became the medium of choice for anyone wishing
to advertise a gig, promote a cause or simply
express themselves in public without having to
settle for the strictures of the mass media or the
gallery system.
Over the last thirty years, the photocopier has
contributed to the rise of a cheap and accessible
means of expression, free from censorship, house
styles and deadlines, that has taken root the world
over. With the development of self-service copy
shops, large-format copiers and widespread computer
literacy, zine and fly poster production has become
more accessible and more professional while
retaining its underground edge. Outside the media,
outside the gallery, marginal sub-groupings from
radical politics to urban street culture have found
their own uses for Chester Carlson's invention,
redefining authorship and questioning
authority.
The
Artists...
Tobin Yelland: Based in New York.
Represented by Alleged Galleries. Has worked with
Larry Clark & many skate magazines.
Mike O'Meally: Born in Australia, now based
in America. Has worked for many skateboard
magazines.
Aaron Rose: Creator of Alleged Galleries
representing artists including Mark Gonzales &
Phil Frost. Also Author of Dysfunctional.
Max Creasy: Melbourne artist &
photographer exploring the athleticism, styles
& mythology of Asian, American & Australian
skateboarding.
Todd James: American artist. Has exhibited
at Venice Biennale. Also worked for Eminem &
Iggy Pop. Creator of Crank Yankers.
Ed Templeton: American painter &
photographer. Also creator & owner of Toy
Machine skateboards.
Max Doyle: Australia-based artist, fashion
photographer & editor of doingbird
magazine.
Brendon Fowler: American photographer who
has worked with Mike Mills.
Alex Corporan: American photographer &
member of NYC Supreme Posse.
Raphael Rashid: Melbourne-based photographer
& filmmaker. Also owner of Skate Blank clothing
label.
Renks: Melbourne-based painter &
international train painter.
Beci Orpin: Melbourne-based graphic designer
& illustrator. Has worked for many companies
including Burton, X-Girl & Built By Wendy.
Ari Marcopoulos: American skateboard
photographer. Exhibited in the Whitney.
Dion Kovak: Ex-pro-skater & Sydney-based
recreational photographer.
Elska Sandor: NY-based designer &
photographer. Also owner of girl's skate brand
Rookie.
Dale Nason: Melbourne-based photocopy
artist. Also lectures at RMIT.
Fergadelic: London-based designer &
owner of T-shirt brand Tonite.
Gen Kay: Photographer based in both
Melbourne & Tokyo. Has worked for many Japanese
fashion labels & magazines.
Ben Sansbury: London-based art director
& creator of short film Making Things.
Micah Handorf: Sydney-based designer. Works
for many companies including Stussy.
Deanne Cheuk: Designer & illustrator
from Perth, now based in NYC. Creator of Neomue
zine, available worldwide. Assistant to David
Larson.
Sk8thng: Japanese designer & artist. One
of the creators of A Bathing Ape. Also a member of
Monsoon Posse.
Delta: Dutch artist and graffiti writer.
King of 3D.
Perks...
Misha Hollenbach is a designer, artist and
curator with a background in graffiti art. He has
held solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Paris, Seattle,
Sydney and Tokyo, and has taken part in numerous
group exhibitions in Europe, America, Asia and
Australia, usually outside the contemporary arts
circuit. His exhibitions are installed within a
total concept environment. His design clients
include Stussy, Mambo, Mooks, Fuct and Jazz Fudge
Records (UK). With Shauna Toohey, he founded PAM, a
company designing, manufacturing and retailing
street-wear with a twist. He is an avid collector
of Japanese toys.
...Mini
Shauna Toohey is a designer, writer and
artist. She has exhibited in Australia and Japan,
written for Level magazine (UK), Tokion
(Japan/USA) and Oyster (Australia).
She has been designing fashion since 1995 with
clients including Stussy, Revival and Dangerfield.
Her graphic design clients include Genld,
Dangerfield and Revolver (nightclub). Her offbeat
streetwear designs are highly sought after. She
formed PAM clothes design group with Hollenbach in
2000, creating fashions for London, Paris and Tokyo
as well as the main cities in Australia.
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