Like a child trying to be an adult, dressing up and using materials to fake it, she makes what she thinks she wants but can’t have—our consumerist dilemma par excellence—trying but failing to be a domestic goddess hosting dinner parties, with the décor, accoutrements and attitude just right.

Exhibition Dates: 1 October – 24 October 2015

Sarah Contos expresses herself through drama and fantasy, drawing inspiration from the 1970s/1980s aesthetic she grew up with but giving it a twenty-first-century, aspirational, DIY twist.  Like a child trying to be an adult, dressing up and using materials to fake it, she makes what she thinks she wants but can’t have—our consumerist dilemma par excellence—trying but failing to be a domestic goddess hosting dinner parties, with the décor, accoutrements and attitude just right. She wants to be this person but inherently is not. Her stand-in, a permed and pouty beauty cut and pasted from a 1970s Australasian Post magazine (who she names ‘Barbara’) gives patchwork, tiling and ikebana a red-hot go but enjoys a cigarette, a cocktail and a sleep-in, and has a penchant for lamé and leather.  Contos orchestrates the parts of her domestic drama like a director, styling objects and materials to play various roles within her fantasy world, but the processes of art-making resist control. Though the rubber, chains and bodily forms evoke S&M, as suggested by the title, they draw as much from the playground as the bedroom. Like a kid trying to manifest what it is to be a woman her creations—lights, pillows, quilts, room dividers, fountains—are wonky and grotesque and invite creative release from the desire for total control.

Linda Michael

Linda Michael is the senior curator at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne


Sarah Contos recently completed a special commission for the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, for exhibition in Streetwise: Contemporary Print Culture (2015) at NGA Contemporary. Earlier this year, Contos’ work featured in 21st Century Heide: The Collection Since 2000 (2015) at The Heide Museum of Modern Art. In 2014, she participated in the group exhibitions Express Yourself: Romance was Born for Kids (collaboration with Romance Was Born) at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and the NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) at Artspace, Sydney. This same year Contos’ work was included in Haze at 4A Centre of Contemporary Asian Art, having been presented for the first time at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney, in the group show Never-Never Land (A collaboration with Utopian Slumps). In 2013, Contos held her first institutional solo exhibition titled Ladies and Gentlemen Sarah Contos Presents: The Muses and the Folly at The Heide Museum of Modern Art Project Space (as part of Future Primitive, curated by Linda Michael). Contos was awarded the Artspace Studio Residency from 2012-13, and the 4A Beijing Residency in 2013. Total Control is Sarah Contos’ first solo exhibition at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery.

Hide Exhibition Text

Sarah  Contos Vertical Australian Garden Quilt, 2015; Repurposed quilt, fabric, poly-fil, faux flowers, garden ties and thread; 290.5 x 279 x 28 cm; enquire
Vertical Australian Garden Quilt, 2015
Repurposed quilt, fabric, poly-fil, faux flowers, garden ties and thread
290.5 x 279 x 28 cm
Sarah  Contos Joyride (Quilt for an Escort Panel Van), 2015; Screen print on linen, acrylic spray paint, various fabrics, poly-fil, found dice, gloves and thread; 175 x 174 x 10 cm; enquire
Joyride (Quilt for an Escort Panel Van), 2015
Screen print on linen, acrylic spray paint, various fabrics, poly-fil, found dice, gloves and thread
175 x 174 x 10 cm
Sarah  Contos Cat, 2015; Collaged screen print on linen, chain, Fimo, nickel plated oyster shells, faux pearls and thread; 86.7 x 74.3 x 6 cm; enquire
Cat, 2015
Collaged screen print on linen, chain, Fimo, nickel plated oyster shells, faux pearls and thread
86.7 x 74.3 x 6 cm
Sarah  Contos Indigo A-Go-Go, 2015; screen print on linen, glazed earthenware, acrylic spray paint, oil paint, poly-fil and thread; 105 x 94.5 x 10 cm; enquire
Indigo A-Go-Go, 2015
screen print on linen, glazed earthenware, acrylic spray paint, oil paint, poly-fil and thread
105 x 94.5 x 10 cm
Sarah  Contos Luxury Constraints, 2015; Collaged screen print on linen, chains, copper, PVC and thread; 100 x 100 x 6 cm; enquire
Luxury Constraints, 2015
Collaged screen print on linen, chains, copper, PVC and thread
100 x 100 x 6 cm
Sarah  Contos Strawberry Milk With Vodka, 2015; Screen print on linen, neon, transformer, leather, hardwares, chain, steel, artist's jumper, wool and thread; 172.4 x 100.3 x 8 cm; enquire
Strawberry Milk With Vodka, 2015
Screen print on linen, neon, transformer, leather, hardwares, chain, steel, artist's jumper, wool and thread
172.4 x 100.3 x 8 cm
Sarah  Contos Staring at the Bottom of a Teacup, 2015; Collaged screen print on linen, various fabrics, poly-fil, PVC and thread; 159 x 143 x 4 cm; enquire
Staring at the Bottom of a Teacup, 2015
Collaged screen print on linen, various fabrics, poly-fil, PVC and thread
159 x 143 x 4 cm
Sarah  Contos 1985, 2015; Collaged screen print on linen, Fimo, beads, found ceramic shoes, acrylic spray paint, calico and thread; 198 x 200.3 x 4 cm; enquire
1985, 2015
Collaged screen print on linen, Fimo, beads, found ceramic shoes, acrylic spray paint, calico and thread
198 x 200.3 x 4 cm
Sarah  Contos Total Control, 2015; Screen print on linen, various fabrics, poly-fil, PVC, acrylic spray paint and thread; 173 x 275 x 5 cm; enquire
Total Control, 2015
Screen print on linen, various fabrics, poly-fil, PVC, acrylic spray paint and thread
173 x 275 x 5 cm
Sarah  Contos Night Light, 2015; Glazed earthenware, light globe and fixtures, rubber, PVC, wood, hardwares, felt, poly-fil and thread; 137 x 80 x 25 cm; enquire
Night Light, 2015
Glazed earthenware, light globe and fixtures, rubber, PVC, wood, hardwares, felt, poly-fil and thread
137 x 80 x 25 cm
Sarah  Contos A Modern Flower 'Arrangement', 2015; Glazed earthenware, PVC, poly-fil, wood, found wooden cocks, found glove, faux flowers, steel and thread; 159 x 93 x 28 cm; enquire
A Modern Flower 'Arrangement', 2015
Glazed earthenware, PVC, poly-fil, wood, found wooden cocks, found glove, faux flowers, steel and thread
159 x 93 x 28 cm
Sarah  Contos Lemon Squeeze, 2015; Glazed earthenware, light globe and fixtures, wood, wire, steel, Bronte beach sand, various fabrics, screen print on linen, upholstery tacks, plastic chain, lighter, plastic fan, found sequinned gloves, ceramic beads, tinsel wig and thread; 137 x 46 x 41 cm; enquire
Lemon Squeeze, 2015
Glazed earthenware, light globe and fixtures, wood, wire, steel, Bronte beach sand, various fabrics, screen print on linen, upholstery tacks, plastic chain, lighter, plastic fan, found sequinned gloves, ceramic beads, tinsel wig and thread
137 x 46 x 41 cm
Sarah  Contos You're Home Beautiful, Darling, 2015; Glazed earthenware, light globe and fixtures, nickel plated oyster shells, chain, Fimo, faux pearls, faux flowers, faux fruit, candle, mannequin's hand, nail varnish, tinsel wigs, found wooden cocks, wood, air-dry clay,  glass, poly-fil, fabric and thread; 137 x 46 x 41 cm; enquire
You're Home Beautiful, Darling, 2015
Glazed earthenware, light globe and fixtures, nickel plated oyster shells, chain, Fimo, faux pearls, faux flowers, faux fruit, candle, mannequin's hand, nail varnish, tinsel wigs, found wooden cocks, wood, air-dry clay, glass, poly-fil, fabric and thread
137 x 46 x 41 cm
Sarah  Contos Enter Sandman, 2015; Plaster, glazed earthenware, repurposed plinth, wire, foam, Bronte beach sand, Ben Cousins book, oil paint, acrylic spray paint, various fabrics, screen print on linen, upholstery tacks, faux beads and thread; 290 x 130 x 100 cm; enquire
Enter Sandman, 2015
Plaster, glazed earthenware, repurposed plinth, wire, foam, Bronte beach sand, Ben Cousins book, oil paint, acrylic spray paint, various fabrics, screen print on linen, upholstery tacks, faux beads and thread
290 x 130 x 100 cm
Sarah  Contos Just You and Me Dancing, 2015; Glazed Earthenware, light globes and fixtures, vinyl, poly-fil, faux pearls, found ceramic boot and thread; 76 x 94 x 27 cm; enquire
Just You and Me Dancing, 2015
Glazed Earthenware, light globes and fixtures, vinyl, poly-fil, faux pearls, found ceramic boot and thread
76 x 94 x 27 cm
Sarah  Contos Falling Through Water, Like Teeth  Through Licorice, 2015; Glazed earthenware, chrome-plated pillow, leather, vinyl,  chain, wood, hardwares and thread; 266 x 62 x 25 cm; enquire
Falling Through Water, Like Teeth Through Licorice, 2015
Glazed earthenware, chrome-plated pillow, leather, vinyl, chain, wood, hardwares and thread
266 x 62 x 25 cm
Sarah  Contos Hanging for Morris, 2015; Rubber, steel, metal and plastic chain and hardwares; 280 x 80 x 7 cm; enquire
Hanging for Morris, 2015
Rubber, steel, metal and plastic chain and hardwares
280 x 80 x 7 cm