For Whom the Bell Tolls . . .: Richard Bell Imagining Victory

Richard Bell, Broken English, 2009. HD video, production stills. Courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane.

If you like your art confronting, challenging and satirical, then Richard Bell’s show at Artspace is definitely for you. Imagining Victory is a collection of videos and paintings with related themes – racism, greed, elitism and the commodification of Aboriginal art.

Bell describes himself as ‘an activist masquerading as artist’, which should be enough to get you into the gallery because it’s a promise of something more than the usual gallery fare. This positioning allows Bell to step outside the arena and reorganise the stage; flipping roles, turning the big themes inside out and stripping them bare for all to see.

This is a show with significant social and political message and not one where the aesthetic concerns take centre stage. That’s not to imply that the works aren't visually appealing, they are―especially the large scale video piece The Dinner Party with its slow moving camera and muted sound track―it’s just that the aesthetic gives way to message. And the message is delivered hard and fast and leaves you with a slow ringing in the ears.

The video piece Scratch an Aussie is particularly successful. It cannot fail to bring you face-to-face with our own inherent racism through a series of Aboriginal centred jokes played out in a therapy session. We know these school yard jokes; we've heard them in pubs and in those moments we've laughed at 'otherness' in cruel and unkind ways. This universal past of ours circles and taunts us as viewer. It's strong and unsettling.

So if you are one who takes offense easily, best stay at home with your glass of red and your feet up. You’ll avoid the intellectual stimulation, the chance of self-reflection and the opportunity to see our culture from a different viewpoint. But you’ll also miss out on the challenging, and often poignant Richard Bell.

On until 11 August at Artspace. 

Or catch it at a regional gallery near you when the show goes on tour. View the tour itinerary.