Perth Voice Interactive

A NEW Perth exhibition pokes fun at the use of the male nude as a symbol of machismo and power in the art world.

Featuring a mix of provocative drawings, photos and sculptures, The Bachelor is a wry and at times hilarious send-up of the archetypical male nudes you would find in ancient Greece and Rome.

One of the most entertaining pieces is Eric by Rebecca Dagnall. Her photo features a semi-naked man wearing a fabric six-pack and a cucumber penis.

Dagnall says she was playing on the title of the exhibition The Bachelor, with a cute nod to the reality TV show.

“Eric is my alter ego and my perfect bachelor,” Dagnall says.

“Eric is both a simplistic view of the binary male gender and an expression of the layers of identity we hold within ourselves.

“The identifying characteristics of maleness in this image are his cucumber penis (green with envy), perfect abs and the clichéd pose.”

Dagnall’s photo also acknowledges the 21st century post-gender  landscape, where notions of male and female are more fluid.

“In all of Eric’s identifying characteristics, Eric is not exactly male in a biological sense,” she says.

“He is a construct of male. It is through Eric that I seek to examine how gender moulds and constraints, but also how gender can offer opportunities for self-expression and liberation.”

Perhaps the most arresting and slightly disturbing piece in the exhibition is Theo Costantino’s Bridegroom. Made from acrylic paint, leather, cardboard and cotton, the life-size nude man, slumped on a chair, is a crumpled saggy heap.

It’s the very antithesis of the muscle-bound Adonis and will strike fear into the heart of men across the nation who look into the full-length mirror every morning and vow to get in shape.

Other highlights include Birdman – Spinebill 2, a graphite and coloured pencil drawing of a nude man with a bird’s head, and the terrifying Well Hung by Anna Nazzari, which features a barely human face with a penis nose.

The Bachelor was curated by Andrew Nicholls, who is busy creating a new divinatory system based around Western Planetary Magick.

It will take him years to complete the 70-card cartomancy deck, but he’s showcasing the initial ink and watercolour drawings at his new exhibition The Majestical Firmament.

Best known for his baroque ‘high camp’ drawings, Nicholls also practises ceramics, photography, installation, performance and filmmaking, and has exhibited across Australia, Southeast Asia, Italy and the United Kingdom.

“A fun little group exhibition, The Bachelor features work by 11 of my favourite female and non-male artists who have each been commissioned to create a male nude,” he says.

Participating artists include Elizabeth Edmonds, Eva Fernandez, Susan Flavell, Elisa Markes-Young and the aforementioned Rebecca Dagnall. 

An experienced photographer who likes to explore Australian gothic and notions of suburbia, Dagnall has exhibited widely in Australia and has been a repeat finalist in some prestigious competitions such as the William Bowness Photographic Award.

Her photo for The Bachelor was initially a witty diversion while she was in-between projects, but she quickly realised the exhibition had deeper meaning.

“The fun and performative nature of the work has in the current world political climate become weightier,” she says.

“It feels timely to be again discussing the possibilities of living authentically and freely in the world.

“Through my work I hope to challenge the rigidity of labels and invite a broader more inclusive understanding of what it means to be human in all its complexities.”

The Bachelor is on until March 1 at the Art Collective WA, (Cathedral Square) 2/565 Hay Street in Perth. To find out more see artcollectivewa.com.au and rebeccadagnall.com.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK