3 September 2008

What stands six metres tall, takes three days to put together and has something special to say about modern warfare and dwindling fossil fuel supplies?

The correct answer is My Humvee (inversion therapy), a monumental sculpture by Peter Hennessey which is the latest acquisition by the UQ Art Museum and is now on show to the public.

Carved out of black painted plywood and standing permanently in the museum foyer, the piece resembles a tower which on closer inspection becomes a model of the gas-guzzling car tipped on its nose.

Commissioned for the 2008 Melbourne Art Fair the work was recently donated to the University by the Melbourne Art Fair Foundation and was officially launched last night.

“The Humvee is the workhorse of the US military; tens of thousands of these vehicles are deployed wherever American forces are sent,” UQ Art Museum Director Mr Mitzevich said.

“It’s a mind-bogglingly functional vehicle but it’s also legendarily fuel inefficient, with the Hummer, a consumer version, voted the most environmentally unfriendly vehicle of 2004.”

Although the Humvee burns five litres of fuel per kilometre, Mr Mitzevich said the vehicle enjoyed a cult status among celebrities and consumers, with Arnold Schwarzenegger credited as the first US civilian to own one.

“As such, the Humvee is a potent symbol of the excesses of both western military power as well as consumer culture,” he said.

Mr Hennessey was on site earlier this week to install the artwork, which is made of up 3000 individual pieces and took four people three days to erect.

He said the museum was the perfect place to house the sculpture due to space requirements and natural lighting which allowed the work to be appreciated from different angles at different parts of the day.

My Humvee complements the museum’s daring neo-goth survey and showcases UQ’s commitment to thought provoking art which links to current University research and outreach.

My Humvee is a powerful work that demonstrates the possibility of art in the 21st century,” Mr Mitzevich said.

“Its size and scale are impressive but as equally compelling are the ideas which the work explores.”

The UQ Art Museum is open free to the public between 10am-4pm daily with parking free on weekends.

Media: Nick Mitzevich (07 3365 3046, n.mitzevich@uq.edu.au) or Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)

** High resolution images to accompany this release are available by contacting Diana Lilley (07 3365 2753, d.lilley@uq.edu.au)