The nature of representation is inherently flawed. Ideological and innately restrictive, the meaning of any given representation is never definitive, as the gap between intention and realization, original and copy, can never be bridged.
Irfan Hendrian’s SANS☒ explores the expansive potential of non-representational aesthetics and thinking strategies. The artist’s non-objective practice operates beyond the finite nature of representation, extending the possibilities of perceptual and imaginative experiences. In this exhibition, "SANS" (literally, without) followed by the symbol "☒" is used to describe an absence of representation.
Within the space opened up by the absence of signs – things that "stand for" or "take the place of" something else – Hendrian presents us with a particular aesthetic experience; foreign and strange, but equally playful. In these eccentrically colored, painstakingly constructed forms, Hendrian draws us into a peculiar imaginary space, releasing us from the rules of representation into a state of perceptual ‘tabula rasa’.
Sullivan+Strumpf acknowledge the Indigenous People of this land, the traditional custodians on whose Country we work, live and learn. We pay respect to Elders, past and present, and recognise their continued connection to culture, land, waters and community.