Visions of Utopia

An exhibition of works by:
Lisa Scharoun and Frances Tatarovic
Presented by the Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University and Deakin Creative

12 June - 29 July 2009

*Opening Event:
The exhibition will be officially opened by:
Professor Sally Walker, Vice-Chancellor, Deakin University
Friday, 12 June 2009
6pm-8pm
RSVP: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
by 29 May 2009

Dennys Lascelles Exhibition Gallery
Deakin University
Geelong Waterfront Campus
1 Gheringhap Street
Geelong Victoria
Australia

Open Monday - Friday
10am – 4pm

About the Exhibition:
Since 1949, propaganda posters have been produced in China as a visual language to unite the masses. Posters and billboards portraying images of youth in minority costumes, traditional paper cuts and China’s abundant workforce engaged in modernisation were meant to unite the masses through ‘revolutionary realism with revolutionary romanticism’. These images offer interesting insight into Mao’s version ‘socialist utopia’. With the opening of China to foreign investment and trade in 1979, the vision of a ‘socialist utopia’ has changed once again. Propaganda posters are replaced with large-scale billboards featuring luxury cars, clothing and products from the West. In order to illustrate this change, artists from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, Lisa Scharoun (Lecturer of Graphic Design) and Frances Tatarovic (Lecturer of Photography), have created a series of ‘advertisements’ that utilize similar themes of Maoist era propaganda posters with the infusion of the glossy characteristics of luxury fashion advertising.  The images reference techniques and the visual language of contemporary western commercial fashion photography. Within the artworks, the past and present visual culture of China is juxtaposed to create a dialogue between the icons of the Maoist vision of a socialist utopia and the contemporary visual icons of fashion and luxury advertising.

‘Visions of Utopia’ had its first showing at the Shang Gallery, Shanghai, China in November 2008 where the Consul General of Australia, Mr. Tom Connor, officially opened it. We are now pleased to be showing Visions of Utopia as the inaugural exhibition in the new Dennys Lascelles Exhibition Gallery on Deakin's Geelong waterfront campus. For further information on Deakin University, School of Communication and Creative Arts: http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/scca/news/exhibit-utopia.php