![Lyndon Dadswell. Untitled [Bird] circa 1965, brown gummed paper on metal support and wooden base, height 137 cm width 110 cm depth 95 cm](/cms/cmsimages/banner-images/bequest/PRG-sm-top-bequest7.jpg)
Tom Polo
Tom Polo's recent practice uses text and humour to engage with a corrosive anxiety about the human condition. Through painting and installation Polo explores contemporary society's inherent desire for success and what it means to be a winner - and by comparison - what it means to be a loser.
Recent exhibitions in 2009 include: The 2009 B.E.S.T Contemporary Art Prize For Painting (MOP Projects), CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN (GRANTPIRRIE), Why do we do the things we do (Perth Institute of Contemporary Art) and No Identifiable Culture (Campbelltown Arts Centre). In 2009 Polo was awarded an Australia Council for the Arts London Studio for 2011.
Recent exhibitions in 2009 include: The 2009 B.E.S.T Contemporary Art Prize For Painting (MOP Projects), CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN (GRANTPIRRIE), Why do we do the things we do (Perth Institute of Contemporary Art) and No Identifiable Culture (Campbelltown Arts Centre). In 2009 Polo was awarded an Australia Council for the Arts London Studio for 2011.
No Right Turn Artist Statement
Night Drawings initially began as a way of combating late night insomnia. Working in darkness or with shut eyes - often in bed - Polo’s small scale drawings use memory and guesswork to demonstrate the effect that little to no vision has on both a creative and aesthetic level. The result - informal narratives featuring misshapen heads, bodies, text and lines that do not match up - come together to discuss the success or failure of what has been produced and subsequently, what may be questioned as a ‘good drawing’.
Tom Polo’s Continuous One Liners are an ongoing project using text and humour to discuss a corrosive anxiety about the human condition. In doing so, Continuous One Liners reference contemporary society’s inherent desire for success and what it means to be a winner - and by comparison - what it means to be a loser. Influenced by conversation, colloquialisms, motivational speaking and personal mantras, the text based works are often created in an act of immediacy like a comedian who writes down his best jokes so not to lose them.
In rendering these works, Polo’s use of text becomes an extended act of portraiture that is a reflection of both the self and others, generally. While some relate directly to ideas of art or being an artist, others text use a colloquial approach so that any audience may relate them to their own notions of winning or losing, both mundane and spectacular.
Tom Polo’s Continuous One Liners are an ongoing project using text and humour to discuss a corrosive anxiety about the human condition. In doing so, Continuous One Liners reference contemporary society’s inherent desire for success and what it means to be a winner - and by comparison - what it means to be a loser. Influenced by conversation, colloquialisms, motivational speaking and personal mantras, the text based works are often created in an act of immediacy like a comedian who writes down his best jokes so not to lose them.
In rendering these works, Polo’s use of text becomes an extended act of portraiture that is a reflection of both the self and others, generally. While some relate directly to ideas of art or being an artist, others text use a colloquial approach so that any audience may relate them to their own notions of winning or losing, both mundane and spectacular.
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