BRENDAN LEE
Brendan Lee is an Australian artist working in the mediums of video installation and photography
Lee's art looks at the associations that are made between notions of place, film and history. He explores the relationships between the filmic memory of significant cinematic locations and how we interact with their historical weighing. In the last few years, Lee has focused on Australian film history and folklore in how we identify and differentiate ourselves culturally from other regions. Through constructed and discovered film locations, Lee presents open ended questions about identity through filmic narrative and tropes. Lee's current videos aestheticize cinematic genres and portray the underbelly of australian culture represented via film.
Recent works
Recent exhibitions include Proving Ground, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2007; Two Birds With One Stone, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2006; The Beautiful Badlands, Crossley & Scott, Melbourne 2006; Shootin’ from The Hip, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA); Takin’ a Shot, The Institute for Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane 2005; …Matter of Time, Video-Spell curated by Blair French, Performance Space, Sydney 2004. He was the guest editor of Photofile 74 and has written for un Magazine and Artlink. Lee recently completed an Australia Council residency in Los Angeles and will be exhibiting in a major survey of Australian moving image artists at the Tate Modern in February 2009.
More information can be found at www.brendanlee.com
selected Solo Exhibitions
| 2010 |
Proving Ground, Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla |
| 2009 |
The Sentimental Blokes, Jenny Port Gallery, Melbourne |
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Great Southern Land ,The Academy Gallery, Launceston |
| 2008 |
Standing on the Outside Looking In Shifted, Richmond, AUSTRALIA |
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Out of Character Trocadero, Footscray |
| 2007 |
Save Braybrook, DIY Project for the Footscray Community Arts Centre |
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Between a Rock, Bendigo Art Gallery |
| 2006 |
Two Birds with One Stone, Art Gallery of New South Wales |
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Anthology, Crossley & Scott, Melbourne |
| 2005 |
Takin’ a Shot. Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne |
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Takin’ a Shot. Institute for Modern Art, Brisbane |
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Shootin’ from the Hip. Perth Institute for Contemporary Art |
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Role Model. Crossley & Scott, Melbourne |
| 2004 |
Takin' a Shot. Downtown, Adelaide |
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Shootin' from the Hip Crossley & Scott, Melbourne |
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Shootin' from the Hip (photographic version). The Farm, Brisbane |
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a matter of Time, Video Spell 3 Performance Space, Sydney |
| 2003 |
a matter of time Gertrude contemporary Art Spaces |
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Death is a matter of time, Canberra Contemporary Art Space |
| 2002 |
…numbers up BUS Gallery Melbourne |
| 2001 |
Cut to the Chase, 1st Floor Gallery |
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Vault of the Third Kind, Slide, 200 Gertrude Street |
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ANGER, TCB artinc. |
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Apprehension of Immediate Danger Westspace |
| 2000 |
Syntax 7.04 Centre For Contemporary Photography |
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Syntax 3.0, Sherman Galleries |
| 1998 |
Syntactic Subjection Slapo Video Gallery |
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Kaboom Slapo video Gallery |
| 1997 |
Lightboxes, Tivoli Gallery, Bourke Street, Melbourne |
selected Group Exhibitions
| 2009 |
Tyre Kickers, Session, Trocadero Art Space, Footscray |
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Two Birds with One Stone (abridged) Palimpsest Festival, Wentworth Goal NSW |
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Proving Ground, Figuring Landscapes curated by Catherine Elwes, Tate Modern London |
| 2008 |
Shootin’ from the Hip, The Mirror Stage, Lanitis Foundation, Limassol, Cyprus |
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Between a Rock (photographs) Team Australia, Curated by Veronica Tello, Carlton Hotel, Melbourne |
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Out of the Blue RE:CONNECT, Level 17 Artspace Melbourne |
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Proving Ground, Between a Rock Neo Goth: back in black University of Queensland Art Museum |
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Two Birds with One Stone Australian Gothic: Video Art Now, Curated by Dr Shaun Wilson, PICA |
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Shootin’ from the Hip Contemporary Australian video, Institute for Contemporary Art, London |
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The Beautiful Badlands excerpt 2008,World One Minutes, Today Art Museum Beijing |
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To Catch a Thief, Don’t Steal Tricks, Revolving Doors, Uplands, Melbourne |
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The Beautiful Badlands 2008 version, Proving Ground, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, curated by Helen Frajman, Curtain House Melbourne |
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Out of the Blue Post Cinema curated by Shaun Wilson, Project Space, Melbourne |
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Proving Ground Circlework version Videobrasil, Sao Paulo |
| 2007 |
The Beautiful Badlands, The Vernacular Terrain, QUT Museum, Brisbane |
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Proving Ground, NEW07, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne |
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Out of the Blue Tracks 1, 2, 3 4, Figuratively Speaking, curated by Simone Jones, The Block, Brisbane |
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Out of the Blue Tracks 1, 2, PROJECTOR Curated by Kate Murphy, Broadstone Gallery, Dublin |
| 2006 |
Shootin’ from the Hip, Plain Crash, Vidi_festival06, Valencia, Spain |
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Plain Crash, SynCity curated by Mark Titmarsh, ACP, Sydney |
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Art Vs Hollywood curated by Joanna Callaghan, London |
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The Patriot Act, 18th St Art Complex, Santa Monica, Los Angeles |
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Shootin’ from the Hip, Plane Crash, Role Model, Out of the Blue ARCO, Spain |
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Out of the Blue Tracks 1, 2, The Late Sessions curated by Soda Jerk, George St Cinemas, Sydney |
| 2005 |
Shootin’ from the Hip, Make a Scene, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney |
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Shootin’ from the Hip: Exito version, A Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne |
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PG+13 Trocadero, Melbourne |
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Mythologies of Film & A Plain Video, Scott Donovan, Sydney |
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Sprog Learns that his Future has been Cancelled, Half Life Kings ARI |
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Cut the Chase (redux)Pitch Yout Own Tent, Monash University Museum of Art |
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A Plain Crash,'A portable model of...' curated by Tristian Koenig Plimsoll Gallery Hobart |
| 2004 |
Mythologies of Film, EFOS04, ACMI Melbourne & Artspace Korea |
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Death Time. One Minutes, Salto Television, Amsterdam |
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Human Resources, OutTAKEout, Kiosk, Christchurch. New Zealand |
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Shootin' from the Hip; Gran Exito Version. 80X80. Athens |
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Shootin' from the Hip; Gran Exito Version, Affordable Art Fair, Melbourne |
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Mythologies of Film. Next wave. Scratch Video. Melbourne |
| 2003 |
OFTENON Sydney International Film Festival curated program by Scott Donovan and Brent Grayburn |
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Death is a Matter of Time, Nth Art Exhibit01, Ols & Co Gallery, London |
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SKIDS, Entertainment, Chewing the Phat, Phatspace, Sydney |
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SHOOT ME, Art + Film, Centre For Contemporary Photography, Melbourne |
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… Two Birds with One Stone (preview), Royal Rumble. Kings artist – run initiative Melbourne |
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Mythologies of Film #1 Wall Candy curated by Greg Defteros, Conical, Melbourne |
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Game Over Man Bong On 02, BUS, Melbourne |
| 2001 |
PursuitTouching at the Parabolica, Latrobe St Gallery |
| 2000 |
Hits & The Automated Attendant, Immersed- curated by Natasha Bullock, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne |
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Line of sight,Platform 2, the space in - between group show |
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Syntax 5, DLUX Media Arts, D>Art00, Sydney |
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Bubblegum Crisis, TCB Melbourne |
| 1999 |
Greatest Hits Inconspicuos Ivanhoe Girls Grammar |
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One of fifty, Summer Salon, CCP Melbourne |
| 1998 |
Syntactic Subjection RMIT Honours Show Gallery 101 Annex. Collins, Street Melbourne |
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Kaboom version 2, I.D, Serial Art video installation, Melbourne Festival, Myer |
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Kaboom/ Theorists,Plummet, Melbourne Fringe Festival |
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3D photograph, Glen Eira photographic prize |
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Serial Art HMV Records, Bourke Street Mall, |
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The Two Minutes, First Site Gallery Swanston Street, Melbourne |
| 1997 |
iMmersion Type 2 Span Gallery,Flinders Lane Melbourne |
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Reactives First Site Gallery Swanston Street Melbourne Digital work on paper with Sean Kavanagh |
| 1993 |
Sound Sculpture, Buniyong Hotel |
PRIZES AND AWARDS
| 2007 |
Footscray Community Art Centre, DIY project |
| 2005 |
Australia Council Los Angeles Studio |
| 2002 |
City of Melbourne projects grant, PROJEKT VIDEO CATALOGUE |
| 1999 |
Ilford Prize for Digital Excellence, Summer Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography |
| 1998 |
RMIT Union Arts grant recipient |
SELECTED CURATORIAL
| 2009 |
Australia? With Kristian Haggblom, Mildura Arts Centre |
| 2005 |
END, HALF-LIFE, NO RETURN, RISK Kings ARI, Melbourne |
| 2004 |
VIDEOLA, 30 Years of Australian Video Art, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney |
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PROJEKT#NEXT WAVE, SpaceMent, Melbourne |
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P# Contemporary Australian Video Art. The Physics Room. Christchurch. New Zealand |
| 2003 |
PROJEKT VIDEO ARCHIVES, Issues #1 - #6 outTAKEout, Kings artist - run space |
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Melbourne ENTERTAINMENT, Phatspace, Sydney |
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ART + FILM, with Natasha Bullock, Centre for Contemporary Photography Melbourne |
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Royal Rumble, with Frank Guarino. Kings artist – run space. |
| 1997 |
Tivoli Gallery Program co-ordinator, RMIT, Melbourne |
bibliography
| Dylan Rainforth, Taking a crack at Aussie blokes, The Age July 1, 2009 |
| Veronica Tello, Team Australia Catalogue, December 08 |
| Dylan Rainforth, Rear Window or Front Projection? unMagazine 2.1, 2008 |
| Footscray Star Newspaper, May 2007 |
| Victoria Kyriakopoulos, The Age, March 2007 |
| Tony Birch New 07 Catalogue 2007 |
| Broadsheet NEW07 |
| Sebastian Smee, The Australian, March 2007 |
| Ashley Crawford, The Age, August 2006 |
| Megan Backhouse, Cover + feature, Art Gallery Guide. Jan 2005 |
| Robert Cook, ‘Shootin’ from the Hip’ in Art Papers, 2004 |
| Penny Web, Critics Choice, The Age, July 2004 |
| Andrew Frost, The Next Generation, Australian Art Collector, April 2004 |
| Dominique Angeloro, Critic's Choice, Sydney Morning Herald, March 12 2004 |
| Maria Bilske, A New Era for Collectors, Australian Art Collector, Jan 2004 |
| Barbara Bolt, Video Hard Sell, RealTime, March 2004 |
| Daniel Edwards, The art of in-between, RealTime October 2003 |
| Cath Collins, Exploring our relationship with film – through art. Arts Hub, August 2003 |
| Lucinda Strahan, Glam Art, The Age, August 2003 |
| Robert Nelson, Telltale Interactions, The Age, July 2003 |
| Adrian Martin, ART+FILM catalogue essay. |
| Gavin Findlay, An eye on mortality, RealTime, May 2003 |
| Greg Deftereos, Wall Candy Catalogue essay, 2003 |
| Lily Hibberd, Take a Hard Look at the Evidence, …Numbers Up catalogue, 2002 |
| Daniel Palmer, Brendan Lee: the cinema-computer experience, RealTime 2002 |
| Paul Gray, Anger is all the rage, Herald Sun, September 2001 |
| Blair French Video goes big time: some crucial questions, RealTime, 2003 |
| John Safran, Catalogue essay, ANGER, September 2001 |
| Technologies in the sector, Museum National, August 2000 |
| Paul Gray, Fleshing out art, Herald Sun, June 2000 |
| Natasha Bullock, Immersed: the contemporary body object, 2000 |
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professionAL EXPERIENCE
| Vital Signs forum speaker, ACMI |
| VDO Speaker, Queensland College of Art |
| Guest speaker, UTAS, Hobart |
| Guest speaker, RMIT, Melbourne |
| Un Magazine committee member |
| Guest Editor Photofile Issue 74 |
| Affordable Art Fair Melbourne |
| Melbourne City Council, Public Art consultant, Laneways Project |
| DLux d>art emerging screen selection panel (with Angelica Mesiti) |
| Contemporary Art Gallery Forum, Linden |
| What is Video Art? Lecture, Christchurch University |
| Melbourne International Film Festival, ART+FILM forum |
| Producer of 13 episodes of Screentalk, For Public Hangings on Channel 31 |
| Co-ordinator of Kings Artist Run Initiative gallery space in Melbourne (ongoing) |
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