Still Lives

Overview

When Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art fills its halls with art on a particular subject or theme, or by a certain artist, it doesn't just stop at drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations. That's the joy of being an art gallery with your own cinema — pairing what's on display upon those white walls with movies mean to be enjoyed in a darkened space.

Accordingly, free exhibition Still Life Now comes with an also-free screening program, with Still Lives also musing on existence. Here, must-see movies such as Flux Gourmet, The Death of Mr Lazarescu and The Lobster anchor a program that contemplates life, death and transformation, with the rotating array of flicks showing on Sundays from October 9, 2022–March 12, 2023.

The lineup falls under four sections, with 'Stillness' seeing the beauty in the everyday, as epitomised by features such as Coffee and Cigarettes and 24 Frames. Then, in 'Excess', indulgence and extravagance is in the spotlight, which is where the likes of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Carnivore Reflux come in.

'Transition' explores life, death and rituals attached to both, with a lineup that includes A Pigeon Sat on A Branch Reflecting on Existence and Vitalina Varela. And 'Transformation' favours films about the natural meeting the unnatural, including Death Becomes Her and Little Joe.

And yes, there's two films actually called Still Life — Jia Zhangke's 2006 title and Sima Urale's 2001 effort — on the bill.