Larrikins

Overview

The OED defines a larrikin as "a boisterous, often badly behaved young man" or, more positively, "a person with apparent disregard for convention; a maverick". Upcoming exhibition Larrikins at Redfern's 107 Projects embraces the latter definition whilst liberating the word from its exclusively blokey origins (though Bob Hawke still gets a look-in, naturally). It celebrates the Aussie larrikin — male or female, young or old — as a kind of heroic figure with the ability to resist the ugliness of political and social conservatism, thanks to their cheeky wit, egalitarian attitude and breezy rejection of conformity.

You'll see work across a range of mediums, from sculpture to video installation to live performance. According to exhibition curator Kate Britton, larrikinism is a quality to be found and considered in all featured artists, including Beth Dillon, Ramesh Mario, Myles Prangnell, performance collective Applespiel and experimental musician Fieldings. In a show that promises to be amusing yet sharply insightful, you'll hopefully walk away with a fresh perspective on Australian-ness and how different things might look if we all embraced our inner larrikin.

Thursdays-Sundays, noon-5pm.