Tracey Moffatt fans have an exciting opportunity to see all eight of her montage films made with long-time collaborator Gary Hillberg this month at Casula Powerhouse. Exhibited together for the very first time, the works in Montages: The Full Cut, 1999 – 2015 span 17 years of the pair's creative partnership.
Using the Hollywood film for inspiration, the montages – which vary in length from seven up to 24 minutes – combine found and edited footage from iconic films, telemovies and arthouse cinema to offer up an ode to cinema whilst revealing "the stereotypes that populate our collective cultural imagination." Expect a typically inventive dismantling of dominant cinematic tropes (love and romance, art, revolution) as Moffatt and Hillberg play with narrative and character conventions to create their own fictions.
Developed by Sydney's Artspace, Montages: The Full Cut will tour nationally in partnership with Museums & Galleries of NSW until 2019. Side note: the exhibition coincides with the conclusion of the 2017 Venice Biennale, where this year Moffatt became the first Australian Indigenous artist to present a solo exhibition.
Image: Montages: The Full Cut, 1999 –2015 Tracey Moffatt and Gary Hillberg, installation view Artspace, Sydney, 2016. Photo: Zan Wimberley (detail)