Videogame joysticks, a fossilised radio, and VHS tapes spun into haunting life-size figures; this exhibition celebrates the playful ways artists reanimate supposed defunct media. A central work is Susan Hiller’s large-scale installation featuring a customised Wurlitzer jukebox, which plays over 100 revolutionary anthems, spanning sixteenth-century German peasant ballads to anti-fascist folksongs and contemporary rap. Hiller’s jukebox invites visitors to choose a song and set the soundtrack for the exhibition, which includes works by Paul Chan, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Fiona Hall, Callum Morton, Ricky Swallow, and Max Dupain.
Susan Hiller (1940–2019), Die gedanken sind frei (Thoughts are free), 2012, 102 songs on customised Wurlitzer walnut jukebox, vinyl lettering, books, benches, sound, overall display dimensions variable. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Gift of Geoff Ainsworth AM and Johanna Featherstone 2017. © Estate of Susan Hiller. Photograph: Jack Hems. Courtesy Lisson Gallery, London and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of New South Wales
9 March to 22 September 2024
Sydney
