This exhibition was a rare opportunity to consider nearly twenty years in Australian art from the perspective of the artist, Raafat Ishak, who began exhibiting in Melbourne in the early 1990s. Ishak's involvement in many activities including artist-run initiatives, collaborations with friends, site-specific projects, smallscale painting, and art that comes off the stretcher onto walls and floor indicate many of the key characteristics of his generation.
In this exhibition, Ishak responded specifically to the architecture of the museum. His special projects included a reconfigured installation originally shown in Correction, a solo exhibition in the small artist-run space Lovers in 1999, a site-specific work that was installed on the rear south-west corner of the museum's facade, and another collaborative work that occupied the basement windows visible from Swanston Street.
Recipes for Aversion and Strategy suggested that Ishak would not necessarily agree that contemporary art practices can be readily unpacked for broad consumption. Rather, he proposes that art is part of a constantly shifting process that takes account of the political and cultural circumstances of governments and institutions, just as much as individuals.
Curated by Bala Starr.
