2007 to 2008
Endless Summer
Sunglasses and the spectacle of vision
Context
Endless Summer: sunglasses and the spectacle of vision chronicles one man’s obsession with sunglasses. The exhibition consists of a sequence of portraits of the man wearing his entire collection of sunglasses, in which each of the 37 images is the same except he is wearing a different pair – one for every summer of his life – in seemingly endless repetition.
The work project been presented in two solo exhibitions, at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces in 2007 and at the Australian Experimental Art Foundation in 2008. It was also featured in the major group exhibition The Leisure Class, curated by Kathryn Weir at the Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland, in 2008.
Story, inspiration and model Vinko Anthony. Voiceover artist Greg Ulfan. Photos by Lily Hibberd.
The gallery space is constructed as a viewing experience with two floor-to-ceiling tinted acrylic panels that can be looked though like a pair of spectacles. A voiceover accompanies the installation, with the man recollecting his summers past as he tries on each pair.
Endless Summer examines the psychological and cultural aspects of sunglasses, as objects and instruments of altered perception, from both sides of the lens. Adopted by 20th-century fashion and celebrity culture, sunglasses are a powerful embodiment and representation of human desire. Endless Summer draws on this rich culture to set up a comparison between sunglasses, photography and vision, and the capacity of each to contain time or to memorialise the past.
Monologue for an installation: A life recollected through sunglasses by Lily Hibberd.
The complete script for the performance by Lily Hibberd downloaded from the link in the image.
Performed by actor and voiceover artist Greg Ulfan, the 35 minute audio recording for this installation is available below.
Memory Projects
