From the other side: a cutting-edge exploration of horror

The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) presents its latest exhibition From the other side until March 3, featuring the works of 19 Australian and international artists in a showcase of the horror genre as a reflection of the “collective anxieties and fears of our times”.

Renowned artists such as Mia Boe, Louise Bourgeois, Karla Dickens, Tracey Moffatt, Marianna Simnett, Heather B. Swann, and Maria Kozic contribute to this major exhibition, which “casts a lens on feminist, queer, and non-binary subjectivities”.

Showcasing more than 60 historical and contemporary works, From the other side will also feature key new commissions specifically crafted for the exhibition “to consider the transgressive pleasures and liberations of horror”.

“We initially had a list of hundreds of artists but narrowed it down to the voices that feel most relevant to the current moment – in particular those in horror who have traditionally been relegated to the roles of either victims or monsters,” ACCA curators, Elyse Goldfinch and Jessica Clark said.

“Centering the fear of the monstrous-feminine, the exhibition raises questions about the often-harmful representation of female monsters – the witch, the hag, the monstrous mother, the shapeshifter, the possessed woman.”

This groundbreaking exhibition demonstrates ACCA’s commitment to setting the agenda for contemporary art and cultural conversation, with From the other side supporting “ambitious, challenging and experimental artistic practice and curatorial collaboration”.

“There has never before been a major exhibition exploring horror from so many different female, queer and cross-cultural perspectives in Melbourne,” Ms Goldfinch and Ms Clark told Southbank News.

“The artists in the exhibition challenge and reclaim stereotypical roles to consider the complexity of how they are represented in art, film, popular culture and the everyday.”

In addition to the exhibition, ACCA has also collaborated with The Capitol cinema to present the Screams on Screen program over “two heart-stopping nights”, which includes showings of feature films, experimental shorts, and artist and director talks. •