Inspired by the revolutionary aesthetics of Russian Constructivism, the text-based practice of Rose Nolan belies a wistful longing for past moments of collective political urgency, an impulse that is, however, blurred through Nolan’s self-deprecating humour and use of humble materials. Situated in the staircase of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Nolan’s Big Words (Not Mine) – Read the words “public space”… is a one hundred metre strip of bunting emblazoned with text from a 1995 lecture by the American performance artist Vito Acconci entitled Public Space in a Private Time, which advocates the revolutionary potential of non-commercial public space.
