“Being stuck in Australia for the first time in years meant that it definitely felt like I was in a bubble looking out. Each painting became a kind of reaction to the chaos that was happing outside. The BLM protests, the virus, the summer bushfires and climate change, economic crash, the feeling of being unprepared for a crisis like this. All the feeling surrounding these events leaked into the work. I try not to be super literal with my paintings and a lot of the pieces act as allegory. The painting of the broken water cooler is about the Australian drought, the runaway horses a reaction to the riots, the image of the falling cowboy acts as a cautionary tale on the pitfalls of neoliberalism and American capitalism. Each painting acts as a kind of chaotic, codified storyboard of the year.” - Magee’s commentary about the show
Watch Selina Miles’ video on Magee’s preparation to the show