Curatorial Statement

Featuring zoe wong, daniel mudie cunningham, clara chon / blue blank, d.a.n.c.e art club, kenny pittock, janet lilo, natasha matila-smith, marc etherington, low cost cosplay group, raquel caballero
#fdyouremynumberone

I started working at Gaffa gallery in 2014, while cleaning the office I discovered letters – either handwritten or typed – addressed to Australian tennis star Pat Cash. The letters came from what seemed like older European men who were either genuine fans or autograph collectors. There was this wonderful yet painful kind of earnestness from these men, they shared their lives and hopes with Pat and hoped to meet him in person one day. After some research I found that Gaffa Gallery’s address was listed in a very out of date celebrity fan club address book. I wrote back to these men, returning their money and a small note letting them know that this was no longer the fan mail address for Pat and that I had even tried to get in contact with him but to no avail (I sent him multiple messages on Twitter).

I became semi-obsessed with these letters and the men that wrote them, what drove them to send a hand written letter detailing their lives and personal stories with a few euros to an ageing ex-tennis pro?

Examining the concepts of celebrity, fandom and popular culture in art, You’re my Number 1 brings together a group of artists from Australia, New Zealand and Thailand that each respond to the current celebrity obsessed world we live in. Whether it is a real or imagined relationship or a want to belong, to be noticed and admired just as much as the idols we see on our televisions and movie screens, You’re my Number 1 will question what compels us to want to connect with celebrity and all that it entails.

More on the exhibition and participating artists here.