Blue Moon | Plomp

Official Website

Artereal Gallery, Rozelle

by Andrew Frost

Anna Carey’s new exhibition of work at Artereal, Blue Moon, recalls the song of the same name. It’s melancholic strain drifts softly across this show. Comprising a collection of Carey’s photographs reminiscent of vintage Gold Coast, Los Angeles and Las Vegas motels and old-fashioned apartment blocks, Carey’s work recalls nostalgic moments and simple times. But wait – something isn’t quite right. Carey’s images are, in fact, unreal. Making comment on the truth of the image, they’re photographs of hand built architectural models placed in staged environments. These gentle fantasy landscapes operate on opposing planes. While very human they’re also darkly disturbing.

Ask the DJ to change tunes to something like Sugar Sugar and you get the vibe for Louise Zhang’s first solo show, Plomp. Zhang’s seductive circular paintings on canvas or wood are painted in a combo of fluoro and pastel acrylics and come with titles like Bug Fat, Visible Magic, Maybe Baby and Ghost Glazer Dream Eater. Despite their sweet and tacky appearance, reminiscent of “the over indulgent excesses of the Baroque and Rococo” Zhang’s work also has its dark side. Two installations of multiple specimen bottles filled with candy-coloured ‘flubber’ complete the show.