Bogart
Though a chance meeting, a new creative partnership was formed between Company2 and one of Australia’s most well-known artists, David Hart. Supported by QPAC’s seed idea development funding, Chelsea McGuffin spent a week with a creative team to dig exploring the potentials of bringing David Hart’s artworks to the stage through the physical form of circus.
David’s ‘Black Dog’ series is the most iconic and highly collected of all of his artworks. The iconic black dog that appears in many of David’s works depicts Bogart, his childhood pet. Bogart was a true companion and close friend to David throughout his youth – smart, watchful, protective and ever present, Bogart lives on as the feature character of this sensational series.
The process of this series involves months of layering an enormous amount of paint to the point that the frame is stretched and can barely support itself. The technique was inspired by one of David’s heroes in the art world, Jackson Pollock; bringing the work to life by embellishing the artwork using enamel. In the final stages after drying, several small black dogs are cleverly and randomly scattered amongst the folds and drizzles of paint. This allows the viewer to become actively involved in their own visual experience as they search for each dog. David’s Black Dog paintings are intentionally random, expressive, and purposeful.
The collaboration explores a world that starts flat and becomes 3D. A world where the viewer can look between the layers and find what lies inside. A world full of shadows, projection, other worlds of discovery, heart-break, compassion, risk, fear, strength, breakdowns, failure, hope, resilience.
This is a story about hope. Exploring the courage it takes to maintain it. The effort it takes to discover it. The risks you must face to see it. The people it takes to survive it. It’s a journey on life - surviving your own masterpiece.