1980 | Tools of Coincidence

“Remembered as a decade of big hair, shoulder pads, music videos and an art market boom, the 1980s was a period in which artists took up a diverse range of aesthetic positions not merely as stylistic options but as trenchantly argued ethical choices. Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style explores a decade of dynamic change in contemporary art and culture, from appropriation and sampling in painting and music to the DIY aesthetics of post-punk music, art and fashion; and from postmodern critiques of history, authorship and originality to postcolonial revisions of Australian history and identity.” – Max Delany (Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, NGV)