Steve Starr

Opens Wed 5 August 2020
Runs 6 – 16 August

Artist Statement

Steve Starr’s primary focus is digital collage, photography & painting and his practice now brings them together with installations.

#Homosapiens is an interrogation of the human body as a ‘site’ of intimacy and control. It revisits the Sexual Revolution of the 1970s and the Feminist Sex Wars that has raged from the 1980s to the present. These two events critiqued assumed gender roles and stereotyping, in an ongoing debate of gender politics. It draws upon the women’s liberation movement, gay politics and the ‘pro-sex’ feminists of the early 1980s, and their staunch opposition to censorship and their support for pro-choice in how we control our bodies and lives.

This interrogation is timely because the cultural and attitudinal backslide into deeply entrenched conservatism has occurred over the last two decades. This has manifested a ‘toxic gaze’ of poisonous judgment and criticism of people’s appearance, behaviour and preferences. Currently, Australia has the most conservative federal and states governments in its history that are driven by corporatist and conservative religious politicians and lobby groups. This is a time for the arts to push back against these forces.

The figurative images in #Homosapiens are sensual, defiant and sexually provocative. We all interact with lovers and friends on various personal and intimate levels. The model who inspired these works is Starr’s long-time friend, Pia. Venus Rising I & II, 3D Punk and 1982 are derived from a photoshoot in the early 1980s where both artist and model were pushing personal and artist boundaries in the exploration of figuration while surrounded in the cultural context of the above events. Rowena has consented for the photo archive to be used for the series. At the time, Rowena was a still life model and worked as a topless performer at Martin’s Bar on Oxford Street. The works captures her strength, defiance and powerfully provocative feminine sexuality.

Pan (after Rodin) is derived from gay erotica that examines the iconography of the male body in both gay and mainstream culture as a site of fetishism and desire. Gay art is still largely taboo today in mainstream culture despite the history of 40 years of gay liberation and its influence in mainstream advertising.

Biography

In addition to his art practice, Steve (aka Thompson) is a published author, curator and heritage specialist with over 20 years experience in the arts and cultural sector. Steve has published many books, essays and web exhibitions on Australian art, photography and social history. Steve was educated at East Sydney Technical Collage, The University Sydney, University of the Arts London and UNSW: Art & Design and lives in Elizabeth Bay NSW.

EDUCATION

1991 Bachelor of Arts (History Research) (Honours) Class 2 Division 1, The University of New South Wales

1994 Diploma in Museum Studies, Pass with Merit. The University of Sydney
1996 Master of Letters in Museum Studies. The University of Sydney
2017 Commercial Art Market short course, Chelsea College of the Arts, UoA, London, UK
2019 Master of Art, UNSW Art & Design

EXHIBITIONS

Solo

2015 Victoriana Sydney 1837 – 1901: A Journey in Photography, The Whitlam Institute: Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
2017 Victoriana Sydney 1837 – 1901: A Journey in Photography, Rex Livingston Gallery, Katoomba, Australia

Group

2005 The Museum of Other Things, in collaboration with Cassandra Hard Lawrie, Lapérouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
2005 Any News of Laperouse? In collaboration with Nathalie Hartog- Gautier, State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia
2010 The Enemy at Home: German Internees in World War 1 Australia, Powerhouse Museum & Sydney Living Museums, Sydney, Australia
2019 Fault Lines, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2019 Journey of Souls, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia

AWARDS

2009
National Trust Heritage Award for Interpretation and Presentation –websites: Objects Through Time: NSW Migration Heritage Centre/ Powerhouse Museum 2010 National Trust Heritage Award for Interpretation and Presentation -Community

2010
National Trust Heritage Award for Interpretation and Presentation – Community Groups: Sempre Con Te (Always With You) book: Sempre Con Te Group/ NSW, Migration Heritage Centre/ Powerhouse Museum

2012
National Trust Heritage Award for Education, Interpretation and Community Engagement: The Enemy at Home: German Internees in World War 1 Australia, Sydney Living Museums and Powerhouse Museum

PUBLICATIONS

The Enemy at Home: German Internees in World War 1 Australia, (collaboration with Fischer, G. Helmi, N. Hise, B. & Viner, M.) NewSouth Books, Sydney, 2011
Objects through Time: 100 objects that define modern Australia, Migration Heritage Centre: Powerhouse Museum/ NewSouth Books, Sydney, 2012Victoriana Sydney 1837 – 1901: A Journey in Photography, Anchor Books, Sydney, 2017