Shaun Gladwell: Pacific Undertow

Overview

If you're not familiar with the work of Australian artist Shaun Gladwell, that's about to change. The MCA is currently showcasing an expansive survey of his 20-year career, which you can see any day of the week. Or, if you're more of a night owl, you can head down on a Wednesday night for the ultimate night at the gallery.

The artist is known for his video work, and connectedness to the body and movement through images of surfers, skaters and dancers. This survey offers a great viewing platform to look back at the last two decades of Australia and its expanding reach to the rest of the world.

It also reflects a time of technological change as we become more and more reliant on the digital. As such, the exhibition includes newly commissioned augmented and virtual reality works, as well as earlier tech-based works, including renowned video Storm Sequence (2000) set at Bondi Beach.

The title of the exhibition, Pacific Undertow, comes from a critical video to the show that embodies Gladwell's movement through location, his obsessions with colonial and art histories, as well as forms of everyday urban performance and mortality.

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — The MCA has partnered up with LG and is giving away an after-dark night at the gallery followed by your own private movie night on Sydney Harbour. If you're the lucky winner, you and three mates will be put up in a hotel, with breakfast included, plus $1000 spending money. You'll gain access to MCA after hours, including a private tour of Pacific Undertow. After, you'll be led to your own private movie night inside a pop-up dome-like structure, with stunning views across the harbour. You'll also have plenty of movie snacks and drinks on hand while you watch your favourite movies on a massive LG TV. Best of all? They're giving away a brand new LG TV (LG 88" 8K OLED TV worth $59,999), too, so you can continue binge-watching all those movies in the comfort of your own home. To be in the running for this jam-packed prize, head here.