25 June 2022 to 28 August 2022
Image: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, Terminus (still), 2017 - 2018, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation 2017, purchased 2018 © Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, courtesy of Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney; Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland and Jack Hanley Gallery, New York.
Jess Johnson and Simon Ward: Terminus is a virtual reality (VR) installation that transports the viewer into an imaginary landscape of colour and pattern populated by human clones, moving walkways and gateways to new realms.
With their pioneering use of virtual reality, artists Jess Johnson and Simon Ward hold a unique position amongst contemporary art practitioners. Johnson’s drawings are transformed from analogue into digital, and from solo practice into cross-disciplinary collaboration, forming the basis of this virtual experience. Animated by Ward and enriched with input from Smith and Clarke, the result is Terminus: a mysterious universe of alien architecture populated by humanoid clones and cryptic symbols, explored via a network of travellators and gateways.
Terminus presents a quest, a choose-your-own adventure into the technological. Prepare yourself for a slippage of time and space as your journey propels you through five distinct realms.
Hazelhurst would like to acknowledge the Sutherland Shire Council Signshop team for their assistance with the installation of the Terminus exhibition: Daniel Boyd, Sue Johnson, Ian Genge and Andrew McClelland.
Terminus: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward is a National Gallery Touring Exhibition supported by Visions of Australia and the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program. Terminus was commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation.
