Remote Control

Remote Control: Contemporary Photomedia is an exhibition of contemporary International and Australian photography and video from the National Gallery of Victoria’s permanent collection. The exhibition showcases four works of cinematic style and proportion. In each work, the artist takes on a directorial role, manoeuvre lighting, sets and actors from behind the lens – as if by remote control. With camera, Gregory Crewdson, Malerie Marder and Darren Sylvester seem to pause scenes from movies or advertisements that have never been made, while David Rosetzky films highly constructed, almost photographic ‘moments’ on his video recorder. These four works – we might even refer to them as dioramas – explore affective scenes of awkwardness, neurosis, alienation and anxiety. They investigate our relationships to domestic environments and material objects, as well as our need for physical affection and personal connection with others. These artists are close observers of contemporary affluence and identity, the times we spend alone and those we seek to share with others.