Outer space, or simply space, can be defined as the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. The contemporary art exhibition Outer Space utilises this concept of the universe beyond the boundaries of Earth’s atmosphere as a metaphor to explore the limits and agency of the physical body and human psyche influenced by the environments that surround us – the ‘outer space’.
In 2015 Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre celebrates its 21st birthday. As a cultural and multi-disciplinary arts facility, it is a space where ideas, art forms and philosophies fuse. Contemplating the history, architecture and the range of purposes this building has had, one may sense an imposing emptiness within the cavernous interior. The Outer Space exhibition looks to fill this space with new energy.
The novelty and spectacle of outer space exploration, science fiction, the history of Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and its architectural skeleton are starting points with which the artists in this exhibition begin to reveal many complex layers of meaning that are overtly and/or covertly, critical about definitions of space. Emptiness, time, distance, freedom, purpose, ritual, mysticism, the norm and the unknown reveal where the internal and the external redefine borders.
Curated by Adam Porter