INSTALLATION VIEWS

ANNE ZAHALKA presents Homeground!
A series of exhibitions on pubs in Newtown
In association with the Head On Photo Festival
4th May – 30th May 2010

Acclaimed photomedia artist, Anne Zahalka will be staging a four-week exhibition on the fronts and insides of pubs in Newtown showcasing her new series HOMEGROUND! This body of work is a contemporary take on the classic KB, Resch’s & Toohey’s advertising posters which adorned the walls of pubs from the 30’s – the 70’s in New South Wales.

Based on these original pub paintings that idealised Australian sport and leisure, Anne has reworked them to comment on their cultural stereotyping and to reflect the changes in demographic and lifestyle. Homeground! is an exploration and celebration of the citizens and suburbs of Sydney with its diverse and colourful communities.

In keeping with the tradition of the original advertisements, Anne will present her new work in the perspex advertising slots on the front facades of selected pubs including the Union Hotel, the Zanzibar, the Town Hall Hotel and Cooper’s. These hotels in Newtown have volunteered their spaces for the duration of this exhibition and will showcase her original artworks replacing the current ads there.

The event will culminate in an artist talk & walk on Saturday afternoon starting at 3pm 22nd May inside the Cooper’s, stopping at each venue on King St and ending at the Union Hotel for a refreshing ale and discussion at 4pm - a high brow pub crawl of sorts. The Union Hotel will be the main venue hosting the exhibition of reproductions of the original paintings, new works from Homeground! as well as her earlier series, Playing the Game! courtesy of Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.