Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) — Gene and Brian Sherman shone a light on Australian contemporary art for 21 years at Gene’s Sydney gallery. Now, 600 fluorescent tubes are illuminating their new non-profit foundation.
Indigenous artist Jonathan Jones’s installation “untitled (the tyranny of distance),” wraps the tubes inside 500-square feet of aluminum frames, covered with blue tarpaulin. The display was commissioned by the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF).
“Art foundations seem to be a worldwide trend,” said Gene Sherman. “Rather than give to an institution, people are often establishing their own foundations through which they can showcase their own collection.”
Enigmatic and beautiful from a distance, close inspection reveals the plastic tarpaulin cover — a cheap illusion with a message.
In Aboriginal communities, “you see tarpaulin everywhere — from people covering their houses after storms to other people using it for seasonal outstations in the country” said Jones in an interview for the show’s catalog.
The project, on show until Oct. 11, was partly inspired by government efforts to restrict the movement of Aborigines in the Northern Territory, he said, “about confining and controlling movement and freedom.”
