The Dismissal

Abstract

The Dismissal exhibition was created as a document of the events that lead to the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor Government 11, November 1975. Through a series of twelve paintings, the exhibition examines the events surrounding the dismissal of the Whitlam Government by the Governor-General of Australia Sir John Kerr. It focuses on the turbulent period in which the Labor government reshaped the Australian cultural and political landscape, looking at the dramas both in the houses of parliament and the broader political and media arena. The works use real people who were more than anxious to relive their memories of the times and take over the roles of the political identities as an actor would take on a character creating a sense of ownership to the story. The paintings reveal themselves as Shakespearean historical tragedy or maybe even, a backyard pantomime. The Exhibition was officially opened 30 July 2004 by Hon Tom Uren and Hon Gough Whitlam at the Blacktown Art Centre.

1. Its Time - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 2. Blue poles - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 3. The loans affair - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas- 2004 4. Spies - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 5. A new governor general - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 6. A new opposition - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 7.The blocking of supply - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 8. The governor general consults - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 9. Ambush - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 10. On the steps - Dyptich - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 11. Towards the republic - 150cmx200cm - oil on canvas - 2004 Photo of the Installation