Machinations

Machinations is an exhibition in Gallery 2 consisting of new large-scale, screenprinted poster works which survey military aviation machines currently used by The Australian Defence Force, including fighters, carriers and drones (UAVs: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) which are increasingly used in the surveillance of Australian waters. Mutton’s imagery also taps into principles of ‘dazzle’ camouflage design – complex geometric patterning developed during World War I and used in Australian propaganda posters. This body of work developed out of an artist-residency at Megalo Print Studio + Gallery, Canberra in 2015, and continues the artist’s exploration into the relationship that nations and communities have with the technology of war, as seen in previous exhibitions such as Rise of the Machines (2014), and Post War: Thousand Mile Stare (2015). ‘I am interested in the romanticism associated with military flying machines’, Mutton muses, ‘and the seeming disconnect with their capability as enablers of destruction and/or superintendence.’ Katy is an early-career visual artist who has held a number of solo exhibitions over the past 5 years, and participated in numerous group exhibitions including Women, the Homefront & War (Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, 2016), and Guarding the Homefront, Casula Powerhouse (2015). A graduate in printmedia and drawing from the Australian National University, these two mediums continue to inform her practice along with work in sculpture/installation. Katy has been the recipient of several prestigious grants/fellowships: in 2014 she was honoured with the Canberra Critics Circle Visual Arts Award for her solo exhibition Rise of the Machines, and with a Print Council of Australia Print Commission in 2016. Machinations was produced with assistance from the ACT Government through Arts ACT.