Important Idea

Important Idea contributes to a field of contemporary art practice that challenges perceptions about key grand narratives associated with Modernism. The work was inspired by a line from the Hal Hartley film, Trust (1991) in which one of the characters makes the statement, 'We're not fucking important - we're just a crap idea', in reference to the insignificance of humanity in the history of the universe. The black and white images, printed on fabric to evoke protest flags, make reference to religious faith, colonisation, the family, philosophy, science and the role of the individual in modernist thinking. These are overstamped in red with the Hartley phrase to suggest urgency and to challenge thinking about ideas that have dominated the development of western culture. The work was included in the exhibition Word of Mouth , shown in Venice and Melbourne, alongside the work of 25 artists from Australia, Scotland and Singapore who explored notions of truth, fiction, illusion, subversion, fake news and surveillance in their work.