Buxton Contemporary presents: The same crowd never gathers twice

Buxton Contemporary is set to unveil its latest exhibition titled The same crowd never gathers twice, running from May 10 to October 13.

Featuring the works of six esteemed international and Australian artists, this exhibition explores the dynamic interplay between public spaces and the social constructs that shape collective experiences.

Curated by “one of the most exciting curators in Australia today” Annika Aitken, The same crowd never gathers twice pushes the boundaries of conventional arenas, delving into the implicit codes and structures that influence public behaviour.

Through mediums ranging from moving image to sound, sculptural intervention, and performance, the exhibited works dissect the social and structural architectures underpinning communal spaces.

Among the featured artists is local Melbourne talent and VCA lecturer, Cate Consandine, debuting her groundbreaking film RINGER.

“The form from which the work is exploring or responding to is roller derby and the idea of non-performing performance coming together in different configurations and moving apart again,” Ms Consandine told Southbank News.

It’s thinking about performative strategies that are not in a traditional performative space – it’s a space of contest and a site of incredible speed and combat and violence between all-female players.

Working with six female world championship roller derby players, Ms Consandine presents RINGER as a circular, three-channel projection, placing viewers within the space and encouraging an “active gaze”.

“When you enter the centre of the work, you can’t see all screens at once, it places the viewer in a kind of space where they’re feeling this movement around them,” she said.

“Unlike action film sequences that might be directed by a male director that are very focal and are cut and edited in a particular way, I’m more interested in the peripheral gaze – in the sense of what you can’t see as well as what you can.”

Designed to be an interactive work and “get under the skin” of viewers, RINGER aims to explore “the notion of embodiment”, both in terms of the players’ physicality and the moving image.

“It’s quite a different work to a visual image or photograph, it’s something that transforms the viewer through a range of emotional and psychological registers and experiences,” she said.

“I’m hoping that viewers will leave the space and carry something of that with them into the world, but I think there’s also a really important contemplation in this work about violence and about those kinds of intensities that are part of our experience as human beings.”

Throughout the exhibition season, Buxton Contemporary will also host an extensive program of live events, including performances, talks, and a symposium.

The same crowd never gathers twice will run at Buxton Contemporary from May 10 to October 13. •