PRESS RELEASE 13 AUGUST 2012 Crisis Complex Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney, Australia September 14 October 13, 2012

2 Opening Friday September 14, 6pm. PLEASE DIRECT ALL MEDIA ENQUIRIES TO: Sumugan Sivanesan <sumugan.sivanesan@gmail.com> and Laura McLean <laurarmclean@gmail.com>

Crisis Complex draws on a global network of artists to address our collective anxieties in an era marked by ecotastraphes, geopolitical antagonism, civic unrest, social fragmentation, and fiscal malaise. Entering the twenty-teens, humans negotiating uncertain futures during a period of spiritual scepticism and political mistrust are nevertheless engaged in a rhetoric of hope. In examining this contradiction Crisis Complex showcases a confusion of ethics and determinism from artists whose practices flourish in the wake of disaster. The exhibition of works on paper, performance, installation, moving image, and social exchange courts critical positions that range from a climate of incapacity to the politics of possibility. Crisis Complex is curated by Laura McLean and Sumugan Sivanesan. Participating artists include: Heidi Axelsen & Hugo Moline, Ella Barclay, Carla Cescon, Edgar Cobin (Mexico), Tony Garifalakis, Francesca Heinz, Lise Hovesen & Javier Rodriguez (UK), Adam Norton, Joaquin Segura (Mexico), Takayuki Yamamoto (Japan) and theweathergroup_U.
Things left unsaid (not forgotten) #1 2011 Joaquin Segura ceramic sculpture

Crisis Complex is the recipient of the 2012 Tin Sheds Innovate/Curate Grant. It also supported by the NSW Artists Grant and the Australian Artists Grant, NAVA initiatives made possible through the support of Arts NSW and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments. Crisis Complex is an Associated Event of Art & About Sydney 2012, produced by City of Sydney.

WORKS IN SHOW Revising radical histories, Joaquin Segura navigates the medium of the manifesto and tactics of negation, with book works that serve as an index of conspiracy theories, survivalist skills and political plans. Edgar Cobin rethinks hierarchic structures of order and power. His permanent marker drawings depict archaic and contemporary relics against a background divided into black and red. In this symbolic conflation he expresses a playful cynicism in the potential for leftist ideals to effectively confront reality. The leather and denim vests that Tony Garifalakis customises for The Filthy Few bring together the insignia of the one percent ruling elite with the aesthetics of biker culture, the other one percenters. Anticipating the worst, Carla Cescon will be giving away showbags for survivors at the end of the world alongside a freestanding installation of communication and tele-spiritual devices. Adam Norton presents a Generic Escape Capsule, a modified and kitted-out wardrobe recalling Cold War fears, which enables one to remain hidden for up to two weeks. In her new installation of water, mist and light, Ella Barclay takes as a starting point the hypotheticals of retired scientist Otto Rssler concerning the creation of a black hole at CERN and its slow consumption of Earth, over a period of decades. Francesca Heinz works with the limits and potentials of the human body, exploring subjective extremes through performance and sculpture. Fathoming futures, Takayuki Yamamoto will run a workshop with local primary school children, where they will be educated in the art of fortune telling and will construct their own fortune telling booths. The booths, along with the prophesies of the young, will be presented in the gallery. In their 2012 horoscope Lise Hovesen and Javier Rodriguez re-appropriate and re-interpret famous philosophers and politicians, providing theoretical guidance in a time of uncertain realities. theweathergroup_U are an experimental documentary collective who have recently been collaborating with Jeffrey Lee, the sole traditional owner of the area that includes the Koongarra mining lease enclosed within
Mystic Thinking: Horoscope 2012 Lise Hovesen and Javier Rodriguez Newsprint 2012

Kakadu National Park. These videos serve as an archive of Jeffreys specific land management and conservation practices, as well as documenting a longstanding and ongoing struggle for control over this land and its use. Engaging with the wider population of Sydney, Heidi Axelson and Hugo Moline draw inspiration from the tenacity and resourcefulness of the Wild Fennel plant. Creating sites of exchange in the city, the artists will invite people to share their Stories of Survival over a cup of freshly brewed fennel tea, highlighting the hidden potential in our urban landscape and community. An illustrated catalogue featuring texts from the curators and an essay by Eleanor Weber will accompany Crisis Complex. Tin Sheds Gallery is a landmark contemporary art space located within the University of Sydneys Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, with a long history of showcasing critical practices and developing discourses.