Graham Miller: Playing the Man
About this exhibition
Childhood memories are the trigger for Graham Miller’s photographic series Playing the Man
The playful and humorous images are a celebration of football and a nostalgic look at the past. Referencing Scanlens bubble-gum football cards from the 1970s and 80s, as well as press images from the era, Miller recreates himself as boyhood football heroes to explore issues of masculinity, identity, and cultural difference. Compared to today’s highly stylised and groomed celebrities on Instagram and social media, football luminaries on cards from this period are refreshingly unmanicured. Larrikin grins, dishevelled hair, hammed up poses and indifferent photography coalesce into comical portraits which defy the revered status with which these players were held. Hard men look surprisingly soft.
Miller emphasizes the absurdity through the use of masquerade, using it as a strategy to question ingrained ideals of Australian masculinity and to comment on the difficulties of conforming to traditional notions of Australianness growing up as a person of mixed heritage.
Visit the Playing the Man website here
Act-Belong-Commit | Playing the Man by Graham Miller
Footage courtesy of Peacock Visuals ART ON THE MOVE is supported by the State Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The Act-Belong-Commit Engagement Program presented by ART ON THE MOVE is funded by Healthway promoting the Act-Belong-Commit message.
ARTISTS
- Graham Miller (WA)
- MEDIUMS
- Installation, photographic print
- INSTALLATION
- Approx. 20 running meters
- ACT-BELONG-COMMIT ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM
- Act-Belong-Commit Artist on the Move in schools and galleries
- Act-Belong-Commit ARTBUS
- Act-Belong-Commit Learning Resource (includes activities, ideas and background)
- Act-Belong-Commit Public programs
MARKETING
Marketing Kit (includes e-invitation template, artwork for hard copy invitation, media release, promotional images, logos and acknowledgements)
INTERPRETATION MATERIALS
- Exhibition and sponsorship panels
- Artwork labels
- Exhibition brochures (free for distribution)
TOUR DURATION
March 2021 – August 2022. Available WA and interstate.
Cost Share
ART ON THE MOVE Members: $4,000 (inc. GST)
Non-Members: $4,500 (inc. GST)
Interstate Venues: Contact to discuss.
Itinerary
2021
January 17 – February 14 : Beach Street Gallery
May 15 – June 19 : Goldfields Art Centre
August 14 – September 19 : Geraldton Regional Art Gallery
September 24, 2021 – January 28, 2022 : Ningaloo Centre
2022
June 11 – August 14 : Bunbury Regional Art Gallery
August 22 – September 17 : Katanning Art Gallery
Images
