Ben Westley Clarke, Mikey Cuddihy, Franko B, Francesca Dolor, Grant Foster, Vanessa Mitter, Tahmina Negmat, Arthur Poujois, Neal Tait
'Marks in space are visibly connected in terms of meaning with the sphere of the mark, but we need further investigation in order to say in what way. Above all, they appear as monuments to the dead or gravestones'.
Walter Benjamin
City at night, teeming with mechanical apparatus, pistons and chimneys and shit. Rattling along on all fours. Bury all you dreamed of up here on the hill, just outside the city. You thought it would be less cheap detritus than this. You thought it would be kinder. Cast stones, burn boats. Gratitude for the gums you once had, the things you thought were possible. Throw the old fridge freezer down the hill, and dose up on whatever is to hand. Ring the memories with flowers, and throw them down the hole.
This hill commemorates what we imagined the State was, what futures could have been; the potential we thought we had; the junk left behind; usless optimism; what you need to learn to forget, unlived, abandoned; thrown in the hole. Give it dignity, give it space. Sing for it.
'Funeral' is an exhibition, in which we consider and critique the function of mark-making as an embodiment of monumentality. It forces together different generations of artists, whose work is resilient and ambitious in questioning dominant narratives.
'Funeral' is the result of the continues curatorial collaboration between Vanessa Mitter and Ben Westley Clarke.
