A household name but with no one watching, are the Academy Awards… over? In 1998, the Oscars drew 55 million viewers to their self-professed glamorous ceremony. In 2010, numbers hovered above 40 million. Each year since, they have plummeted: 23.6 million in 2020 to 9.8 million in 2021. So why does no one watch the Oscars anymore?
Rebecca Belmore’s corpulent force carries Turbulent Water, Australia’s first solo of the celebrated Lac Seul First Nation (Anishinaabe) artist. Showing at Buxton Contemporary until May, the exhibition broadly positions Belmore’s works: video projections with performance and sculptural elements which nurture Indigenous peoples’ cultural bonds and abrasions.
Retro sci-fi stage production SLUTNIK™ sprinkles in delight with sincere rocket scientist (Olivia Mcleod) and her Motherboard (Myfanwy Hocking) heading a fleet of lesbian cannibals away from the gendered perils of earth.
A non-linear narrative spun by its emotional axis risks not engaging some audience members with more substance. But, whatever the outcome, He/r doesn’t shirk away from its sensitive nature. The production centres on the unfettered psychology of queer women, coming full bloom through organic emotions instead of a clear cut socio-political takeaway. Although teetering toward overly stimulating and elusive, He/r mediates friendship with a raw, mesmerising quality.
Promising to delve into ‘the death chamber of White Australia’s memory banks,’ Whitenoise: 12 ghosts, with its hazy approach, struggled to move its vision into something ready for audience digestion.
Helena Sinclair’s work exists at the edge of a boundary – or playfully sits either side. Seeing it, take note of your first feeling or instinct. Is the platter bristling with hairsoothing with its delicate beauty, or discomforting with a grossness that’s not quite gross? Does your reaction sit between the two, not at neutrality but an in-betweenness that depositions your body? Does its silly name undo you further?