Baden Pailthorpe: Spatial Operations
![Baden Pailthorpe 'Spatial Operations' 2014 (installation image) paper pulp, pva, cellulose powder 24.0 x 30.0 x 22.0cm (each), 210 pieces Courtesy of the artist and Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney](/getmedia/12537d7c-fb4a-4d27-bcb5-9533ce5ee25b/_DSC0045-small.jpg?width=1444&height=960&ext=.jpg)
Spatial Operations addresses the power of artefacts and ANZAC mythology. Made from 210 individual sculptures, each piece is a cast pulped paper replica of the SAS helmet used by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith from the Afghanistan campaign and displayed as a dramatic grid installation in the Gallery space.
Baden Pailthorpe was the Artist in Residence at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra in 2013 and Spatial Operations is the result of this residency. Instead of being sent to interpret a war zone, Pailthorpe was ‘embedded’ within the institution itself, turning his attention to the artefacts and practices that make up its collection. This inaugural display of the work at the Newcastle Art Gallery will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 2015.
Related Documents:
Baden Pailthorpe: Spatial Operations exhibition catalogue