Shaun Gladwell is an artist who works mainly in video, but also uses installation, sculpture, photography and painting in his practice.

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1 SHAUN GLADWELL Shaun Gladwell, Interceptor Surf Sequence, Production still. Photograph by Josh Raymond. Cinematography by Gotaro Uematsu. Courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery.

2 SHAUN GLADWELL Born 1972, Sydney Lives and works in Sydney and London The world is happening faster than our senses can process it and art takes on this role where we are really having to question our immediate environment. Shaun Gladwell is an artist who works mainly in video, but also uses installation, sculpture, photography and painting in his practice. As an adolescent growing up in Sydney s western suburbs, Gladwell developed a passion for fast-paced sports. He loves motorcycling and was a sponsored skateboarder. His passion for bikes, cars and skateboards is reflected in his practice, often using them as extensions of the human body in novel ways. His use of performers engaged in urban street practices disrupts the conventional perception of a variety of urban and natural landscapes, examining the relationship humans have with our environment.

3 MADDESTMAXIMVS PLANET AND STARS SEQUENCE For his installation at the 2009 Venice Biennale, Gladwell transformed the Australian Pavilion into a multi-sensory experience, utilising video and sound as well as photographic and sculptural elements. The interior featured 10 large screen video installations. Many featured performers spinning in slow motion in dark urban environments. The exterior of the pavilion included elements that appeared in some of the videos, including the car from Interceptor Surf Sequence and the motorcycle from Apology to Roadkill I IV embedded in a wall. The title of this body of work refers to the Australian cult trilogy of Mad Max films that influenced Gladwell s perception of the Australian outback landscape. He references a post-apocalyptic world where humans struggle in a hostile environment INTERCEPTOR SURF SEQUENCE This 2-channel video projection on a hanging screen features an exact replica of the V8 Interceptor car used in the Mad Max films. In his catalogue essay, Blair French describes Interceptor Surf Sequence: A camera tracks a black V8 Interceptor (the same one that is parked outside the Pavilion) along a red dirt road through wide outback plains. The sky is vast, in one sequence darkening elementally as a thunderstorm approaches. Heat, and in particular dust, distort the view. A helmeted figure in black emerges from inside the moving car through the side window, slowly mounts the roof of the vehicle and stands upright. Every nuance of his movement is emphasised in slow motion, transforming a potentially dangerous act into a formal study in physical virtuosity...

4 APOLOGY TO ROADKILL I IV In this profoundly moving video, Gladwell contemplates the impact caused by humans in the environment. Apology to Roadkill begins with the roar of a motorcycle and a helmeted rider dressed all in black. Unfolding at a slow pace, the rider drives past a dead kangaroo on an isolated road, then stops and dismounts. He bends down to pick up the kangaroo, cradling it in his arms, walking around the scene. Close-up shots of the rider and kangaroo engage the viewer in an act of remorseful mourning for the loss of these creatures lives, the unintended victims of human machines hurtling through the vast landscape. Gladwell talks about this work as a homage to Joseph Beuys 1965 famous performance How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, where Beuys engaged in a similar action. Shaun Gladwell, Apology to Roadkill I VI, , Production still Photograph by Josh Raymond, Cinematography by Gotaro Uematsu Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery

5 SLOW MOTION A continuing feature of Gladwell s practice is the use of slow motion. The meditative pace of these videos contrast with the fast-paced action depicted. Many of his works centre on a solitary figure performing choreographed movements skateboarding, spinning, breakdancing revealing an unexpected fluidity of movement and a sense of poetic gracefulness. Slow motion magnifies every single detail clearly, shifting the viewers perception of these everyday activities to a more profound experience, evoking associations with art forms such as ballet. Shaun Gladwell, Apology to Roadkill I VI, , Production still Photograph by Josh Raymond, Cinematography by Gotaro Uematsu Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery

6 ACTIVITIES DISCUSS Gladwell says that cars, bikes and skateboards function like prosthetics to extend our bodies interaction with the world around us. How do you think these prosthetics transform the way we relate to the Australian landscape? Does Gladwell s use of slow motion affect our understanding of the images we are viewing? Consider other places we see slow motion used, such as in video clips, sport replays and movies. CREATE Devise a slow-motion performance that involves a person engaged in a simple action. Video the performance and use an editing program to manipulate time. How can you alter your audience s perception of the action?

7 ACTIVITIES WATCH, READ, LEARN WATCH Interview with Australia Council at Venice Biennale: watch?v=f_jo4ahfkck Interview with Studio Crasher at Venice Biennale: watch?v=7rs0zu2zzss Interceptor Surf Sequence Video: Apology to Roadkill I IV Video: LEARN Artspace Education Resource: EducationKit_07.pdf Move Video Art in Schools Resource: 1) 2)

8 REFERENCES 1 Summarised version of Rover Thomas story of the massacre as told to Mary Macha, courtesy of the Janet Holmes à Court Collection. The Australia Council respects Indigenous communities and culture. Readers should be aware that this publication contains references to members of the Indigenous community who have passed away.