Settlement and the Gatekeepers
(2022-2023)
Medium
powder-coated steel
Measurements
234.0 × 1080.5 × 150.0 cm (variable) (installation) (closed) 234.0 × 1080.5 × 165.2 cm (variable) (installation) (open)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased, Vicrorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2023
© Elvis Richardson
Gallery location
Level 3, NGV Australia
About this work
Elvis Richardson employs kitsch, form and satire to expose the inherent contradictions of contemporary, commodified life. Settlement and the gatekeepers expands on Richardson’s broader ongoing investigation into the domestic sphere as a site for understanding the human condition. The work comprises a series of metal sculptures made from modified domestic gates, presenting new, pastel-coloured objects. Each gate is reworked to feature commonly used synonyms of the word ‘settlement’. In English-language thesauruses, the word ‘treaty’ is seldom listed as a synonym for the word ‘settlement’, but the inverse is frequently true. Settlement and the gatekeepers questions this linguistic oversight and asks: Who are the gatekeepers?