Al-ah-manful
The Sunday Age
Sunday April 6, 2008
AL-AH-MANFUL
Utopian Slumps, 5/25 Easey St, Collingwood. Until Apr 19. Gallery hours: Fri-Sat noon-6pm. Other times by appointment: 0403 009 291No one ever went gay just from looking, did they? There is a vast array of beautiful men, and, it must be said, penises on display in this exhibition. Promotional images for regular "homo-social" club night Trough Faggot Party get reworked here by an orgy of 11 artists and designers - the resulting remixes are dangerously seductive (hence my concern), and surprisingly consistent. Sleek greys and whites dominate as cavorting models hide and peek through scintillating op art patterns. Curator Timothy Moore, architecture graduate and editor of They Shoot Homos Don't They? magazine, might be responsible for the simple, pleasing wooden structure that divides the space. Emile Zile and Annie Wu definitely contributed video feeds from the Netherlands - but naming individuals is not in the spirit of the affair. Launched at the opening party by a costume-clad procession, this bacchanal celebrates fragile allegiances and relationships - ones that just might mean something in the morning.
© 2008 The Sunday Age
