Taking the form of a colourful and dynamic 'handbook', this multilayered publication reveals the many people, objects and ideas that have come together to create a one-of-a-kind project: Mike Hewson's The Key's Under the Mat.
Renowned for award-winning public projects that are at once artworks, play areas, and places to be, Mike Hewson has reimagined the Art Gallery of New South Wales' underground Nelson Packer Tank space as a combined park, playground, construction site, and commons - an anarchic and generous sculptural neighbourhood where visitors can meet, dwell, play, make, perform, explore and more.
Developed in the artist's dynamic Sydney workshop and constructed from thousands of salvaged objects and materials, Hewson's project is an experiment in participation, a spirited act of reclamation and regeneration, a radical rework of the legacies of modern sculpture, and a provocation about what a truly welcoming art museum might look like. For Hewson, whose sculptural practice was catalysed by the experience of the Christchurch earthquakes, the artist is a host who welcomes guests to use the artwork as their own - 'the key's under the mat, make yourself at home'.
The image-rich publication will be a book of intrigue for those interested in art, architecture, play and playgrounds, with essays by the Art Gallery's head curator of international art, Justin Paton, and assistant curator of international contemporary art Emily Sullivan, along with the voices of friends, collaborators and admirers of Hewson's work, including author Megan Dunn and artists Agatha Gothe-Snape and Liam Gillick, among others.
The first major monograph on Hewson's acclaimed practice, the publication includes photography of the artist's sprawling workshop, previous commissions and new sculptures, as well as renders, sketches, notations and playful interventions to extend its reach beyond specialists and across generations.
