Louise Hearman, Untitled #1352, 2012, AFL, football, painting, Melbourne, football
Summary
The focus of Louise Hearman’s ‘Untitled #1352’ is the symbol of a national obsession – Aussie rules football. Yet, for just a moment, this hovering oval is ambiguous; it could be a frisbee or it could even be a UFO, the intense light catching its side giving a sense of otherworldliness. Just as Hearman captures the taut energy and dynamism of a player and referee in ‘Untitled #1365’ and ‘Untitled #1366’, both of which are held in the Art and Heritage Collection, so too she invests the ball with agency. In this painting, it seems not a passive symbol of a national obsession but a key player in the game.
This painting is one of three by Hearman that came into the collection in 2013, following the Basil Sellers Art Prize, at the Ian Potter Museum of Art. In 2012, Hearman was shortlisted for the award, which was established in 2008 to encourage and promote sustained engagement between contemporary art and sport.
