UNSW Galleries: Russell Lowe – Bike in a Box

The laws of physics state that opposites attract. Some say that this is exactly what’s taking place in the current Russell Lowe show at UNSW Galleries. He’s put a loud fuming motorcycle in the centre of a pristine gallery space and called it Dark Machines – Presence in the Sublime. Many who have seen (and heard) the artwork love it. Others do not, claiming they don’t understand how a revving bike in a large black box is art. Even more so, they don’t understand how it could be called ‘sublime’. Lowe says that he’s deliberately experimenting with different perceptions of elevated beauty and new senses of “the glorious”. Dark Machines is his forceful take on the deconstruction and reconstruction of supreme beauty. What do you think?

Russell Lowe is exhibiting at UNSW Galleries until 6 August as part of A&D Postgrad Projects.