Polly Borland: Wonky
This Melbourne expat is bringing kitsch back to the CCP.
Overview
If her previous work is anything to go by, then Polly Borland’s Wonky should be a pretty outrageous exhibition. For an artist not many Melbournians would be familiar with, Borland has smashed the international stage with her portraits of famous faces such as Cate Blanchett, Nick Cave, Germaine Greer and Queen Liz II, not to mention that series where she photographed a bunch of dudes dressed as babies.
Born in Melbourne but living overseas, the undeniably eccentric Borland often focuses on the psychology of her subjects and the artificiality of the world that exists around them. She’s a big fan of kitsch and it’s an aesthetic that continues to pop up in her work.
In this exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Borland explores different modes and mediums of her practice. She even combines her documentary photography styles with objects found from closed mental health institutions across Victoria. If we’re lucky Nick Cave will be hidden somewhere amongst the rubble... in a blue wig.
