Monash University

Exhibitions

MUMA presents exhibitions of contemporary art by Australian and international artists. Focusing on curatorial research and commissioning, the program includes significant solo artist projects, thematic responses to current issues and exhibitions that contribute to shaping the recent history of art.

Public Programs

Public Programs include lectures, talks, workshops, symposia, screenings and events presented for students and the wider community, connecting people, art and ideas. Varied programs bring audiences into closer contact with artists and researchers, creating spaces for discussion and participation.

Education

MUMA Education engages students and teachers through tailored programs drawing on current exhibitions and the Monash University Collection. Trained educators and artists connect students to art in meaningful ways, promoting creative thinking and critical problem-solving skills. MUMA acknowledges the diversity of all children and provides a child safe environment.

Joshua Petherick

Glass Tables 3 2014
single-channel HD video, colour, and audio 8 minutes 37 seconds, looped
Monash University Collection, Melbourne
Purchased by the Faculty of Science, 2014

An iPhone camera attempts to speak to a flatbed scanner and the flatbed scanner attempts to talk back. Glass Tables 3 confuses the imaging surface through a process of automated interactions between two different devices and their modes of machine-seeing. Both attempting to survey and record one another, they alienate the materials under each other’s gazes, which the resulting images copy and ultimately surpass. Their relationship slowly builds a progressive loop, where the devices’ purpose is abstracted beyond their initial intention. Organic fluids layer upon the transparent, metallic sheen of the machine, creating a space in between computational lenses. Joshua explores processes that underlie the intersection between organic and technological life. Reading through the screen-surface, the device’s technical relationship is no longer the point of the conversation. Rather, the question follows: what visual vernaculars escaped their technological gaze?

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners and Elders—past, present and emerging—of the lands on which Monash University operates. We acknowledge Aboriginal connection to material and creative practice on these lands for more than 60,000 years.

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