P A P  S P E A R S

G R O U P   E X H I B I T I O N

PAP SPEARS was my first solo curated show, and was held at 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace from 31 October to 22 November, 2008.  For the show I invited artists to create works that responded to the cat-mousing phenomenon between celebrities, the public and the paparazzi, and how this dangerously dazzling concoction has resulted in the re-evaluation of the term ‘any publicity is good publicity.’  The Pap Spears artists were: Anthony Lister, Alasdair Macintyre, Sue Dodd, Mari Hirata, Daniel McKewen, David Spooner, Jemima Wyman, Sebastian Moody and Archie Moore. The theme of celebrities is certainly not a new one, so what this show attempted to explore was the mundanity and repetition of celebrity-fuelled sensationalism, and the parallels between celebrities and ‘art star’ artists.

PAP SPEARS debut on the Gold Coast, a city known for its nightlife glitz and celebrity-spotting. To celeb-rate the launch of PAP SPEARS, the artists submitted a paparazzi-style self-portrait for their biography. The public were invited to arrive dressed up to the theme Halloween Hollywood. The gallery itself was decked with red carpet and premiere-style lighting. Conceptual artist Sebastian Moody also used the opening night as a performance piece, taking glamourama shots of the visitors, which he will in the future turn into a ‘paparazzi stalking’ award.  The project he said, would explore the “unique combination of surveillance and desire that celebrities must feel 24 hours a day.” Among the works displayed in PAP SPEARS included an installation by Anthony Lister of a shark-like figure reflecting the territorial nature of celebs, a screen-based ‘rock-opera’ by self-confessed celeb-magazine addict Sue Dodd, and David Spooner’s large-scale suspended sculpture of a predatory tiger. A member of the audience, in true paparazzi style, filmed the opening and surprised us with this Opening Night video. 

The private sagas of celebrities have always belonged to public interest. From Britney Spears’ train-wreck antics to Paris Hilton’s new fling to Tom Cruise’ babbles on Scientological love, celebrity behaviour seems to have become erratic due to intense public scrutiny. It is for this matter that modern day stars are finding it hard to maintain private lives in a culture obsessed with turning celebrity triumph and scandal into trivial entertainment. This stalker-like intrusion has driven certain celebrities to disguise themselves in public so as to hold on to their slipping anonymity. Some turn into recluses, often retreating altogether from the public eye except for rare work-related outings. Others have taken advantage of this exposure by baiting the media and encouraging public attention. This in turn raises their fame profile. But what actually makes a celebrity a celebrity? Deriving from the Latin verb celebrere, meaning ‘one who is celebrated,’ a celebrity is a high-profile person who has achieved recognition in their field of entertainment. Nowadays, to become a celebrity one does not necessarily mean to have talent. What seems to tick the box is their ability to be ‘famous for simply being famous’: a talent that comes from creating drama and entertainment out of their personal lives. The role of the public have also changed – our growing demand to delve into the intimate details of celebrity lives have resulted in a thirst to turn otherwise ordinary people into properties of the public arena. Conveniently, the popular rise of tabloid magazines, celebrity reality TV programs and online gossip blogsites have continued to feed our unrealistic expectations of how a celebrity should behave in public (or publicly private) situations. As a result, modern day stars are worshipped in a level akin to royalty. Their every moment, sensational or mundane, is pursued by public eyes. And when celebrities do fall from grace, their actions are instantly de-glorified and dissected.

Pap Spears was curated by Mariam Arcilla as part of her Young Artists Mentoring Program project, a professional development program managed by Youth Arts Queensland. The mentorship was assisted by an Arts Queensland grant.