Condensery artists explore technology and history
Published on 10 April 2025
THE CONDENSERY – Somerset Regional Art Gallery will launch three new exhibitions on Saturday, 3 May exploring rapid technological changes and the way media is proliferated, distributed and revered.
‘Cubomancy’, ‘Omnishambles’ and ‘Scripted Permanence’ will be on display from 3 May to 13 July 2025.
Charlie Donaldson’s Cubomancy uses game-like processes to recontextualise public domain images.
Charlie Donaldson, Cubomantic encryption (43A35FMDBGWCELSBRBKOCRFMHAB), 2025.
Donaldson has trawled online spaces to accumulate a vast amount of freely accessible images before constructing narratives based on how they relate to one another.
As part of the exhibit, The Condensery’s visitors can play a dice-roll board game and explore how the internet gamifies everyday experiences.
Omnishambles is Rockhampton artist Jonathan McBurnie’s 24th solo exhibition and presents drawing as a visual response to digital technology.
In contrast to exploitative AI image harvesting, Omnishambles focuses on collaboration and community, with daily workshops, drop-in sessions and contributions from The Condensery’s visitors expanding the exhibition over the two months.
Meanwhile, Georgia Hayward’s Scripted Permanence uses the space in The Condensery’s Bomb Shelter as a prompt to consider how history is recorded.
Hayward’s mechanistic drawings examine how archives serve to uphold power and nationalism.
Somerset Regional Council Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee Chair, Councillor Kylee Isidro, said the exhibitions would intrigue and challenge visitors.
“Council is thrilled to present these three exhibitions at The Condensery,” Cr Isidro said.
“We’re particularly excited to see the community getting involved with board game activities, daily workshops and drop-in sessions.”
Cr Isidro said media literacy was a key theme of the exhibitions.
“Media literacy and understanding the impact of technological change is important, even in small country towns,” Cr Isidro said.
“These exhibitions prompt The Condensery’s visitors to think about how everyday online imagery and media impacts how we think, feel and behave.”
The exhibitions will officially open on Saturday, 3 May from 4pm to 6pm.
To register, visit thecondensery.com.au/opening-event-cubomancy-omnishamples-scripted-permanence
Jonathan McBurnie, Perennial Tin Malediction, 2024.
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