How to Vote – 2025

Mixed media assemblage. Rear-end of replica Benin bronze (cut in half), used palette of artist original antique 1830’s homemade painting stretcher, vintage meccano piece, yellow coloured old metal plate, green plastic fridge magnet, antique turned-walnut column retrieved from 1890’s piano. H43 x W35.5 x D12 cm

Owning a badly made bronze replica, a tourist piece of a much desired antique, required some radical attention. Cutting it in two and working out the complex engineering required to support its weight from behind, I attached it to a much used painting palette. The derriere of the leopard, which traditionally is known ‘not to change its spots’ , projects itself outwards directly towards the viewer. I attached the green fridge magnet on its rectum, marking ‘the spot’ of where to vote. This parodies the ‘where to vote card’ In Australian elections. Here I dedicate this to the Australian Liberal Party – “put your (voting) mark on the arsehole’.

The raw undignified stretcher is offset by the extra-elaborate half-columns referring to the social admixture and melding of different social strata in our ‘classless’ Australia.

In the best traditions of a multi-cultural Australia, I have utilised objects from a variety of geographic origins; German (columns) , Africa (Benin leopard), England (stretcher) and UK/France (meccano).

This is obviously a tongue-in-cheeky piece…

ps. It returns to a much repeated trope of the artist in deploying the reverse of a traditional ‘art picture’.

pps. Also a dedication to the derogatory Yiddish phrase; to put your “tung in hals” – Put your tongue in my arse or Kiss my arse. And the hole of the palette is accordingly provided!