MAXIMUM MADNESS: Art Inspired by Mad Max

16 March - 30 June 2024

Gallery 1 | Free

George Miller’s genre-defining Mad Max film series has grown from a tense, low budget Ozsploitation cult hit into a sprawling post apocalypse action opera, redefining science fiction along the way. A complex and compelling mashup of biker, S/M, gearhead, Queer and beefcake cultures and their associated aesthetics, Mad Max has become a cosplay favourite, and has become massively influential in cultural terms, being ripped off, satirised and idolised by sources as varied as The Simpsons, Phil Collins, video games and pro wrestling.

With its grab bag aesthetics, subversive politics and lustful, irreverent approach to Australian hoon culture, Mad Max has remained a cultural touchstone, and a highly influential convergence of tropes, images and iconoclasm, ideal inspiration for visual artists. Bringing together a range of artists paying homage to their favourite post-apocalyptic (anti)hero, it’s time for Maximum Madness.

Featuring Isabel & Alfredo Aquilizan, Karike Ashworth, Cigdem Aydemir, Martin Bell, Penny Byrne, Patrick Connor, Rod Coverdale, Alex Cowley, Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro, Robert Fielding, Emma Gardner, Shaun Gladwell, Franck Gohier, David Griggs, Rosemary Lee, Reg Mombassa, Adam Norton, Phoebe Paradise, Brian Robinson, David Sawtell, Ian Smith, Karen Stephens, Brendon Tohill and Paul White.

Curated by Jonathan McBurnie.

Franck Gohier (b. 1968), Max Rockatansky 2023, black wattle, flattened baked bean tins, sheet aluminium, etch primer, nails, artist acrylic and found objects, 78 x 25 x 22cm. Courtesy the artist.