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Lot Essay
Bennett is arguably the creator of Australias most cutting-edge politicised art. This work is characteristic of recurrent themes and motifs in Bennetts theoretically informed work, combining an exploration of cultural identity with allusions to the processes of history as they operate within both society and art.
The mirror, which is a characteristic motif in Bennetts work, has been appropriated from a 1971 work by the American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein titled Mirror No 6. Mirrors are a perfect vehicle for Bennetts explorations of identity as they are liminal surfaces suggestive of both presence and absence, appearance and reality. Bennett emphasises the conflict in this dual symbolism with his own bodily imprint signifying the physical trace of historical presence, while its beheading leaves identity obscured. The title of the work and the pose of the figure, which could be interpreted as either threatening or helpless, are also suggestive of an underlying discourse of violence.
The mirror, which is a characteristic motif in Bennetts work, has been appropriated from a 1971 work by the American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein titled Mirror No 6. Mirrors are a perfect vehicle for Bennetts explorations of identity as they are liminal surfaces suggestive of both presence and absence, appearance and reality. Bennett emphasises the conflict in this dual symbolism with his own bodily imprint signifying the physical trace of historical presence, while its beheading leaves identity obscured. The title of the work and the pose of the figure, which could be interpreted as either threatening or helpless, are also suggestive of an underlying discourse of violence.