Exhibit observes the everyday

A NEW exhibition of work by artist Rob McHaffie opens at the Bendigo Art Gallery on 10 August.

We are family showcases McHaffie’s recent paintings, collages, works on paper and ceramic sculptures,

Gallery director Jessica Bridgfoot said the exhibition is part of a series showcasing the rich artistic talent of the central Victorian region.

“This is the largest presentation of McHaffie’s work to date,” Ms Bridgfoot said.

“Spread over five galleries, and featuring works drawn from public and private collections in Victoria and Canberra, the exhibition highlights his joyful observations of the peculiarities and trappings of contemporary life.”

McHaffie, who lives in Castlemaine, applies collage techniques to portraiture and narrative paintings to reassemble and re-picture people, settings and moments both real and imagined.

Through pop culture references to musings on domesticity and human relationships, his work reveals and enjoyment of and amusement at life and the “performativity” of our public and private selves.

“This exhibition is an opportunity to work on a much larger and more ambitious scale and to consider the major themes of my work,” McHaffie said.

“Urban and regional life, portraiture, family – all these things draw upon observations I have recorded in diaries for the past 30 years.”

Born in 1978, McHaffie spent his youth in Melbourne. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drawing) and a Master of Fine Art from the Victorian College of the Arts.

He has received a number of awards and has exhibited widely in Australia and New Zealand over the past 20 years.

His work is held in mnay public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane; and the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne.

The exhibition will run until 27 January.