Dancing Umbrellas

Overview

It's not very often that umbrellas inspire a curator's vision for a new group show, but that's sort of exactly what happened when the Heide Museum of Modern Art's curator Sue Cramer came across Melbourne artist Belle Bassin's video work. In the video, Bassin is filmed moving around the Paris Metro system dressed in a bright flurry of umbrellas — and nothing else. These theatrics — as well as the elements of movement, light, surrealism and performance — have provided the basis for Heide's newest group show, Dancing umbrellas: an exhibition of movement and light.

Along with Bassin's two-channel video installation, the exhibition will also include a range of film, performance, painting and object-based works from contemporary Australian artists, including Minna Gilligan, Peter Cripps and Michelle Ussher, amongst others. You'll notice a theme in their works — all of them have been selected for their ability to evoke a sense of otherwordliness through cultural references, artefacts and ideas.

The exhibition will run at the charming Bulleen gallery until June 5.