Art And You

"It's not value that people are looking for; they are looking to be represented. In the end it's not much different than a rich guy getting a self-portrait.”

It's the selfie and its place in the art world Hannah Gadsby is talking about. 'Selfie' and 'Art' are two words most people wouldn't put together but then, no one expected the inclusion of selfie in the Online Oxford Dictionary, winning 'Word of the Year'. Where some would jump in and talk of the declining of culture, Gadsby sees it in a more positive light. Her new show, The Exhibitionist, uses her Arts History degree and her incredible wit to bring the audience into the world of the self-portrait. 

“Self-portraiture has been around for centuries and centuries, and essentially with the selfie nothing has changed; just more people have access to it. It used to be only the rich or the talented that could have a portrait and only those that paint could have a self-portrait. But anyone could do a self-portrait but it would be shit and we wouldn't want to show it to anyone.”

Gadsby recently stepped beyond the confines of comedy with three-part series on Australian art, Hannah Gadsby's OZ.

“It's my take on Australian art. So for anyone who saw the Edmund Capon version, the landmark series on the ABC and the BBC, it's pretty much like that, except it's done by me, so it's a lot, lot different. Basically it's the smart-arse version of Australian art. 

“We're not that savvy to the visual arts anymore because it has become a refined language. So it just rarifies sort of jump-off points and it makes people feel alienated. I don't think our culture is to blame for that; there is a certain aspect of cultivation of superiority that is around that should be challenged more.

“I generally think it has a very important place in society. If you don't like art then I say go out to the warehouse district and say that's what life looks like without art. It's cement and concrete. But that in itself can be art when you think about it. I think maybe we need to make the bridges more accessible between the general populace.”