Andrew Nicholls‘ solo exhibition, Hyperkulturemia, is now on at the Art Gallery of Western Australia as part of the WA Now exhibition series that showcases leading WA artists.
AGWA Curator, Robert Cook describes the display as “seductive and playfully provocative” and it includes photography, detailed drawings and finely made porcelain.
This collection is the result of a series of residencies that Nicholls took part in, in Italy, between 2014-2017. These residencies provided him the opportunity to engage with the sites of classical antiquity and masterpieces of the Renaissance that are typically associated with the Grand Tour rite-of-passage that young aristocratic men took part in during the 18th century.
The title is derived from the phenomenon ‘Stendhal Syndrome’ which is a condition that sees people overcome by the splendour of high Renaissance art causing them to act out in an appalling manner and is often explained as coming from “an excess of culture in the blood”.
Hyperkulturemia is showing at the Art Gallery of Western Australia until April 15, 2019 and is free to attend. The exhibition contains frontal nudity.
