You Can’t See Speed: new ACCA exhibition blends art, sound, and motion

Greek-Australian artist Tina Stefanou is set to unveil her first major solo exhibition, You Can’t See Speed, at ACCA on April 3.

This groundbreaking showcase features a newly commissioned collaboration with blind motorcycle mechanic and rider Matthew Cassar, bringing together Ms Stefanou’s wide-ranging artistic explorations in voice, performance, film, sculpture, ethnographic research, and socially engaged practice.

The exhibition aligns with ACCA’s tradition of spotlighting Australian artists at pivotal moments in their careers.

You Can’t See Speed delves into the multi-sensory nature of film beyond the confines of sight, continuing Ms Stefanou’s long-standing fascination with the human voice as an artistic medium.

From sonic soundscapes to the subtle resonance of humming, her work challenges conventional modes of communication and artistic expression.

Central to the exhibition is a new film and sculptural commission featuring Mr Cassar riding dirt bikes in high-performance contexts.

Exploring the dynamics of collaboration and trust, Ms Stefanou’s film follows Mr Cassar on a surrealist journey of adrenaline and self-actualisation.

Shot across Super 8, 16mm, digital, and high-definition film stocks, the work traces the material evolution of motion pictures while questioning ideas of speed, long Euro-modernity, and mechanical processes.

Alongside this new commission, Ms Stefanou presents a reconfigured selection of her cinematic performance works.

These films, created in collaboration with rural and regional communities, weave together narratives of multispecies relationships, class realities, and rural poetics from the perspectives of migrants, farmers, and young people.

With a background as a vocalist, Ms Stefanou moves fluidly across disciplines, engaging with a diverse range of mediums, practices, and approaches - an embodied methodology she refers to as "voice in the expanded field."

Her work has been featured in prominent exhibitions, including the 2023 Melbourne Now at the National Gallery of Victoria and the 2024 Adelaide Biennial of Contemporary Art.

Spread across ACCA’s four galleries and extending into its bathrooms, You Can’t See Speed transforms the space into a dynamic and immersive environment.

By merging vision, sound, and physical sensation, the exhibition creates a profoundly experiential landscape, inviting audiences to rethink how they engage with art and the world around them.