Page 39 - Art Almanac (February 2020)

every extension of the brush, every sightless step on the ladder. With the artist unable to see,
the audience is sole witness. Black squares are randomly positioned, both high and low, framed
by black fingerprints from Parr’s exploration of perimeters and assessment of paint thickness.
A recording of the event broadcasts throughout the remainder of the exhibition, played
simultaneously over that of LEFT FIELD; in an eternal echo.

Towards an Amazonian Black Square brings awareness to the ongoing environmental catastrophe
of the Amazon rainforest fires, as well as current global concerns about climate change. The
presentation complements the video documentation from Parr’s 2016 performance, BDH
(Burning Down The House) in which he methodically arranged his self-portrait prints, along
with their copper plates, in an 18 x 12-metre grid. Doused with petrol, Parr lights a match and
approximately $750,000 worth of art goes up in flames, and in protest: ‘once you compromise the
future, the past becomes unbearable,’ argues Parr. Once the smoke clears, we see a black square
formed from ash – and we look deep into to constructs of the self. Parr’s socio-political concerns
are expressed via active spectatorship. The audience providing him with his intended result; to
shock, and inform.

Towards an Amazonian Black Square, Carriageworks, 2019
Photograph: Mark Pokorny
Courtesy the artist and Carriageworks, Sydney
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