The works of art in this exhibition invite speculation that engages our imagination. Many of the works and the relationships between them evoke emotions or feelings that may be difficult to express through words.
Certain themes or motifs appear in the works in different ways. George Popperwell's installation Region 1994-96 is a meditation on humanity using abstract references to the Holocaust. It translates persecution and human destruction into a series of abstracted elements. It offers a sense of stillness and silence. There is silence elsewhere in these works.
The title "pure" alludes to the formal appearance of many of the works which use abstracted or conceptual forms to communicate ideas about humanity. A range of meanings and experiences is suggested by the term "pure", including a clarity of artistic intent and an intensity of effect.
The human being is present in all of these works, sometimes visible, sometimes not. It is in the "hotness" of Dennis Oppenheim's videos and sculptures, in the duration of pregnancy in Susan Hiller's work, indexed in the footprints in sand in Felix Gonzalez-Torres' billboard, and implicated in the mirror of Joseph Kosuth's wall-piece.
This exhibition includes works by artists from Australia and overseas, mainly from the Gallery's collection. The selection and placement of the works is a collaboration between Christopher Chapman, the Gallery's Associate Curator of Australian painting and sculpture, and George Popperwell, artist and lecturer.