WA Now - Andrew Nicholls

Andrew Nicholls’ WA Now solo exhibition will showcase his recent Hyperkulturemia series for Western Australian audiences. The major focus of his practice for the past five years, Hyperkulturemia is the outcome of a series of residencies in Italy between 2014-2017. Residencies which allowed Nicholls to retrace the 18th century iteration of The Grand Tour.

A rite-of-passage that saw young aristocratic men complete their formal education via journey's to Italy to view the remnants of classical antiquity and the masterpieces of the Renaissance. The Grand Tour laid the foundations of the Neoclassical movement that would dominate Western aesthetics for a century. The series’ title refers to the medically false condition of ‘Stendhal Syndrome’, allegedly experienced by Tourists overcome by the splendours of high Renaissance art.

The exhibition works aim to evoke a similar sense of disruptive corporeality, while reflecting the semi-mythical position that Italy continues to hold in the Western psyche, as a place where reason gives way to sensuality, excessive emotion and desire.

Hyperkulturemia is part of the WA Now exhibition series showcasing leading WA artists.