project summary

God put us on the earth. Did he do that so that we could question our own existence? Or does he just exist in the minds of lunatics? These questions are some of the major and minor lounge room, dinner party discussions that have taken place since religion has existed. Amen. 

Brooke Fenner and Oliver Cloke have collaborated previously, and this project has been formulated as a response to Brooke’s practice of creating work that explores paradoxical ideas about consciousness and Oli’s interest in the expanded notions of conversation being a pedagogic tool.

Considering the political climate that we live in, are religion and philosophy able to be discussed objectively? With the stimulus of various cultural enthusiasts: a scientist, psychiatrist, writer, philosopher, Buddhist monk and other academics, this show aims to facilitate a think-tank of ideas and viewpoints through a selection of forums. A group of artists, whose practices are already embedded with these ideas, will be using the discussion as a springboard to generate new artwork.

We question if there can ever be an equal playing field for these ideas to be discussed? We believe that there can. We propose a model that engages artists and the public in order to test this theory. Through utilising the gallery as if it were an open plan studio, the artists will be furthering their research into their understanding of consciousness and existence. This will be complemented by a series of forums conducted by Oli Cloke. It will take place initially to critically expand the conceptual framework, and it is hoped will provide new avenues of artistic investigation. There will be a second forum at the closing stages to provide a summation.