Oliver Watts is an Australian artist, lecturer and theorist.

Biography

Watts was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He studied Arts and Law, gaining Honours, at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

. In 2010, he received a PhD in Art History and Theory, the title of his thesis being "Images on the Limit of Law: Sovereignty, Modernism and the Effigy".

Work

Watts works across a variety of media, ranging from

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

. His chief concern is the nexus of art and law, while his works are guided by the question "how do images command?". In a 2010 group exhibition, ''Triplicated'', Watts demonstrated how the law is both desirable and desirous. He revisited the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

fairy tale of the princess and a mythical sea-hare. Through videos and collage Watts has illustrated and sophomorically obfuscated the story through a variety of methods from jokes to critical theory. In his ''BarresTrial Series'', Watts looks closely at a Dada performance of 1921 which aped the law.

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

made trouble as a witness, with

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

the judge, insisting that even a Dada law would be bogus. Watts channelled this

nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning of life, meaning. The term was pop ...

and absurdist spirit, after translating the testimony from the French and then performing it. His collages are based on this translation, which he also presented to the annual conference of the

Association of Art Historians The Association for Art History (AAH) (formerly Association of Art Historians) promotes the professional practice and public understanding of art history.

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, in 2010. In October 2010, Oliver Watts was featured in the international art journal ''

Art in America ''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...

''. In his lectures, Watts has drawn parallels between art theory and J.K. Rowling's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' novels and film franchise. Watts has painted actress

Eryn Jean Norvill Eryn Jean Norvill (born 1984), sometimes spelt Eryn-Jean Norvill, is an Australian stage and television actress. She has mostly performed in Sydney Theatre Company productions, and frequently collaborated with STC artistic director Kip Williams. ...

many times, including an entry for the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

in 2021, and she has featured in his video works.

Academia

He is a lecturer of Art Theory at

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

and Sydney University.

Exhibitions

Watts' solo exhibitions include ''The Golden Probe'', ''Crimes Against Dada'' (Chalk Horse Gallery); ''Three Suns'' (Helen Gory Gallery, Melbourne); ''Smoking Guns'' (Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong); ''Frontier Photobooth'', (1/2 Doz. Festival); ''Pioneers'' (MOP Projects). He has also exhibited in many group shows, including: ''Triplicated'' (Chalk Horse Gallery); ''‘Driftwood’'' (MOP Projects); ''Hairbrush'' (Wren Gallery, Sydney).

Recognition and awards

* Mosman Art Prize (Finalist), 2005–06 *Helen Lempriere Travelling Scholarship (finalist), 2005 * Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (finalist), 2004–05 * ''Dorian Gray (Eryn Jean Norvill)'', finalist for the 2021 Archibald Prize * ''Last King of the Cross'' (

John Ibrahim John Houssam Ibrahim, (born 25 August 1970) is a former Kings Cross nightclub owner. Police allege Ibrahim is a "major organised-crime figure" and was labelled as the "lifeblood of the drugs industry of Kings Cross" during the 1995 Wood royal ...

), finalist for the 2024 Archibald Prize

Selected publications

Among his published works are: *''‘Behind the Lines’''National Museum of Australia
/ref> *''Love, Life and Politics'' ( National Museum of Australia)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Oliver Living people Australian artists Artists from Sydney Year of birth missing (living people)