Totally Looks Like

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 Stills Gallery, Paddington

by Sharne Wolff

Adopting the name of several popular ‘Totally looks like…’ meme and blog internet sites, the title for this show was inspired by an earlier series from American artist Jaimie Warren where she digitally merged pictures of herself as someone else (often a celebrity) with an image of food. That’s how Warren’s Self-portrait as Lasagna Del Ray by thestrutny ended up appearing as a rather crazy red-wigged lasagna, complete with lips that look like they’re sourced from a ‘Botox Gone Bad’ website.

As the exhibition catalogue notes, the artists in this group exhibition depart from the ubiquitous ‘selfie’ and move toward exploring the self as medium. In Jodie Whalen’s new video Lifting my Weight she appears, not in person, but via the introspective routine of her daily sunrise walk while Lucas Davidson’s large scale video Internal Monologue beautifully, and literally, blurs the idea of art and self.Thai-Australian Kawita Vatanajyankur also employs the literal self in her trio of videos where, to highlight her focus on the role of women in the home, she becomes – in a pathetically funny way – a rag, some wet clothes and a piece of washing on the line. Jackson Eaton continues the humour by displaying his series of ‘melfies’ – portraits of the artist as a reflection of the way others see him, including his mum. Jacob Ogden Smith’s Pottery Three Ways sees the artist combine the virtual with 3D printing and traditional sculpting methods to recreate a TV-inspired video/pottery installation.

Pic: Jaimie Warren, Self-portrait as Lasagna Del Ray by thestrutny, 2012. Chromogenic print, 76.2 x 101.6 cm, edition of 5 + 2AP
Courtesy the artist and Stills Gallery.