Cutting off your nose to spite your face may be a neat cliché, but cutting up your money to create your art is no joke. Although it appears to be a drastic way to raise awareness of the appalling human rights breaches uncovered by Amnesty International, that is exactly what artist John Reid, one of the artists featuring in The Triangle has done. Seeking to engage with the politics of the everyday, the mainstream, the party and the public, The Triangle investigates and interrogates the political art scene with art works featuring sarcasm, passion, humour and honesty.

So intertwined are the ideas of Canberra and politics that it would be remiss to let Canberra’s Centenary year pass without contemplating the political art which has sprung from the capital. Burley Griffin’s Parliamentary Triangle has long been a centre of Government activity, debate and discussion in Australian politics. In borrowing Burley Griffin’s geometric framework, The Triangle interrogates Canberra’s political heart from three angles: the local, the national and the international. Elements of fun and playfulness such as Ham Darroch’s series of Ping Pong Bats entitled Great White Males are juxtaposed with the sombre tones of Toni Robertson’s work Taking Market Town by Strategy. words Louise Cummins

The Triangle features work that is exciting, engaging and politically challenging. The exhibition includes work by Alison Alder, Alex Asch, Robert Boynes, Ham Darroach, Julian Laffan, Raquel Ormella, Toni Robertson and Bernie Slater and is curated by Alexander Boynes.

image: Alex Asch 76 JCs Continue the Big Charade (2012) found plastic, glass, metal and enamel paint

image: Robert Boynes Stroke it Rich 1973 76 x 103cm artist proof

Raquel Ormella New Flag 2