Exploring the transience of personal transformation through an installation of paintings, sculptures, monotypes, clocks, jewellery and an extraordinary rug, this is a collaborative and interdisciplinary exhibition.

Indeed, the centrepiece of the exhibition is a 32metre carpet, custom-made to flow from room to room as it traverses both floors of Heide Modern. From the initial conversation about a collaborative rug back in 2019, the idea for the project grew and grew. “Our motto is: ‘keep your feet on the ground and head in the clouds,’” says Georgie Cleary who heads up Alpha60 alongside Alex.

The synergy and excitement between the pair and artist Brendan Huntley enabled the concept to evolve and the singular rug morphed into an ambitious immersive installation. 

“The idea of creating something that will be shown in Heide Modern, with the house’s extraordinary history, inspired us to exaggerate the scale of a domestic item to reflect how the space blurs the lines between house and museum,” says Huntley

The rug features an array of the bright motifs including faces, celestial beings, clocks, butterflies and eyes seen in Huntley’s work. Speaking to the temporary nature of personal transformation, they posit a landscape describing the random evolution of patterns and fleeting nature of the euphoric. 

Related: The Front Room by Jaci Foot-Lowe

Having met Huntley through his band Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Alex and Georgie attended the artist’s early exhibitions at Hell Gallery in Richmond. There they purchased a painting depicting a pair of upside-down wine glasses with faces, which remains in Georgie’s bedroom and forms the basis of their ongoing collection of the artist’s work.

“Our journey started with a friendship, became a desire to work together and sparked an idea, which has culminated in an exhibition,” says Georgie.

Heide Museum of Modern Art
heide.com.au

Photography
Courtesy of Alpha60

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