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Exhibition Details

EXHIBITION CURATOR/COORDINATOR
Independent Curator Minaxi May

ARTIST
Minaxi May

CATEGORY
A, B, C (selected)

MEDIUM
digital manipulation, printing,
merchandising and installation

INSTALLATION
35 - 40 running metres, 60 square metres.
Wall works: 4 sets of 4, A2 size posters (16);
Vinyl billboard; 16 sets of 15 large badges
(240); 10 video morph postcards; 20 life-size
printed acrylic silhouette cutouts; 5 x tv/dvd
presentations

COST SHARE
WA $1,650.00 (inclusive gst)
Interstate tba

DOCUMENTATION
Colour Catalogues gratis
Media kit with press release
and digital images

EDUCATION
Educational Packages (includes teachers
notes, catalogue, gallery education sheets)
Didactic panels
Lectures and floor talks upon request

CRATES
4 crates, 1 tube,
totalling 5.3 cubic metres

TOUR DURATION
August 2006 - August 2008
Available WA and interstate

ARTIST ON THE MOVE & ARTBUS
Sponsored by Healthway to promote
the message Smarter than Smoking

Tagged features multimedia works focusing on the impact of celebrity and consumerism on individuality. Images of pop culture celebrities: Elvis; Michael Jackson; Madonna and Bjork together with photographs of Minaxi are enmeshed together using digital morphing techniques, creating new celebrities which are subsequently rebranded into commodities. These fabricated personalities are objectified, marketed and packaged, imitating real-life branding to create an installation of life-size cut out acrylic figures, digital videos and wall works including: posters; badges; video postcards and a billboard.
The exhibition aim was to explore the specific themes of Celebrity, Change and Commodity (consumerism). By using icons - recognisable faces, the notion of celebrities and people's focus on these personalities is emphasised and given a visual commentary. The celebrities chosen: Elvis; Michael Jackson; Madonna and Bjork all have in common: music, the ability and passion to continually change and reinvent themselves and have contributed significantly to their professions both in style and musicianship. They are all idolised people embedded in the history and future of popular culture.
These celebrities are used as a basis for change in May's artwork; to then incorporate her face, her transformation over the years; her yearning to look or be different and the ever present focus on celebrity by society in modern culture. May questions not only her own
fascination with 'celebrity', but by using images of her self as a vehicle for change and idolisation she mirrors the ideas felt by countless consumers who succumb to the manipulation of media culture. These 'new' personalities are transformed into commodities using familiar items exploited in the merchandising of celebrities into products such as: badges; posters, postcards and billboard advertisements (endorsements).