Albert Tucker: Explorers and Intruders

Overview

In completely unsophisticated terms, Albert Tucker's work is creepy. He was known for it. The gritty social realism of his iconic Victory Girls is still gyrating in my mind from year 12 art class.

This posthumous exhibition, Explorers and Intruders, is set to be an exploration of his softer side. The artworks are still deeply unsettling of course, but as Tucker's lone figures leer out from barren outback landscapes, you can't help but feel a sense of compassion. Right away it's obvious this collection is one based on empathy rather than aggression.

The trek out to Heide will also add to this experience. Whether you brave the cold in August or battle the heat in February, you're bound to get there looking a little like a subject of these paintings. You may not have the social conscience of Tucker and his Angry Penguin friends, but the feelings of isolation and desperation his work evokes are universal.

It won't be the outback, but with a ticket in your hand and a gaunt expression on your face, you will have at least conquered the harsh terrain of the outer-Eastern suburbs.

Explorers and Intruders is showing from 17 August.

Image: Intruder and Parrots, by Albert Tucker.