Punching Skippy is a mixed media assemblage with accompanying soundtracks. The closer you get to her, the more erratic she becomes as she punches out to defend her ground. Don’t mess with this lady of the bush or she’ll knock you down with a single blow ….
The animatronic is an adapted 1970s vintage boxing kangaroo punching puppet fitted with a motor and sensor to propel the movement of her arms. Part of her base is made from the original painted hardwood panels taken from the old cottage the artists once owned and lived in on Rodgers St, Kandos. The shelf for the base also comes from the lumber yard in Kandos and was cut for the artists from a single log of American Rosewood.
Punching Skippy Electronic Components include: Arduino Uno and freetronics Eleven micro controllers, Adafruit Music Maker Shield, Ultrasonic Distance Sensor – 3V or 5V – HC-SR04, LV-MaxSonar EZ1 Range Finder, HS-311 Standard Economy Servo, SanDisk 16GB flash drive, 30W Mono speaker and other miscellaneous components including wires, screws, nuts and bolts..
Current Exhibitions
What’s that Skip? at Way Out Artspace Kandos opening Saturday the 19th August and running through to the 1st of October 2023.
Opening Hours: Thursday – Sunday 10am-3pm
Artists: Patti Abela, Brad Allen-Waters, Damian Castaldi & Solange Kershaw, Peter Cooley, Adrienne Doig, Blak Douglas, Maddison Gibbs, June Golland, Fiona Hall, Craig Handley, Gordon Hookey, Michael Kempson, Fleur MacDonald, Noel McKenna, Ian Milliss, Roger Law, Mai Nguyan-Long, Chris O’Doherty (Reg Mombassa), Simon Reece, Reko Rennie, Joan Ross, Jason Wing and Adeel Uz Zafar.
Curatorial Concept
The Kangaroo holds a special place in our cultural psyche – from national emblem, a symbol of pride and economy to pop culture icon and totem animal of First Nations Australians – this native creature is celebrated internationally as the truest expression of Australia. However, a dichotomy has developed as the Kangaroo comes under increased threat, through loss of natural habitat, farming practices, encroaching urbanisation and climate crisis to illegal baiting, gun sport and an (unregulated) kangaroo meat industry that represents the largest single sustained massacre of land-based wildlife in the world.
Australia’s relationship with the Kangaroo alters from one of endearment and respect to one of intruder and pest. How can we celebrate this globally recognised fauna, the world’s largest marsupial, when it lays discarded, forgotten as roadkill across the land?
The reading of the Kangaroo in contemporary art is rich in both historical and social narrative. Satirical, absurdist, serious and thought provoking, What’s That Skip? collectively examines a number of representations ranging from the popular television series ‘Skippy the Bush Kangaroo’ to neglected, vulnerable creature; from (misplaced) nostalgia and tourist souvenir to the animal as social activist and political present.
What’s That Skip? offers a range of media including painting, print work, sculpture, ceramics, installation, digital, video, textile, repurposed and found objects.
Curated by Miriam Williamson and Leah Haynes.
Recent Comments