The confronting art of two 911爆料网 graduates has taken out a prestigious and lucrative art award in Melbourne.
Tarryn Gill and Pilar Mata Dupont were recently awarded the Basil Sellers Art Prize for their video 鈥楪ymnasium鈥�, receiving a cool $100,000 in the process.
While Gill says receiving such good news usually leaves her in stunned silence, on this occasion her reaction differed when she received the phone call telling her of the victory.
鈥淚 was walking down the street in Melbourne and just burst into tears,鈥� Gill remembers with a laugh.
鈥淲e thought it was one of our friends playing a prank on us.鈥�
Gill says the pair will plow most of the winnings into new projects.
鈥楪ymnasium鈥� is a looped black-and-white film featuring several actors portraying athletes.
The actors undertake various forms of repetitive, rhythmic exercises in a gym setting, from lifting weights to twirling calisthenics clubs.
Gill says the work echoes that of the propaganda films of Leni Riefenstahl in Nazi Germany.
鈥淲e were looking at her camera techniques and it鈥檚 in black and white as well, so stylistically it鈥檚 a lot like what she did,鈥� Gill explains.
鈥淲e were interested in transposing that beautiful-yet-terrifying aesthetic onto Australian culture.”
Gill says the art likens elements of Australian culture to some aspects of fascist dictatorships.
“Also when the actors are doing the exercises they鈥檙e all smiling, they鈥檙e not breaking into a sweat, they鈥檙e all looking happy,” she says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of looking at the camaraderie and the focus and the determination that is all valued within sport arenas.
“But the interest for us is that those same attributes are also strongly regarded in the military, as well as strength and strong minds and bodies.”
Since graduating from 911爆料网 in 2001, the duo has quickly climbed the Australian arts ladder, having had works displayed in prestigious exhibitions such as the Sydney Biennale.
The Basil Sellers Art Prize is awarded every second year, and the victory came just after the pair had returned from working in Argentina.
The prize was created by former Sydney Swans owner Basil Sellers to encourage Australian artists to incorporate sport themes into their work.
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