Important/not important

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Research background: There has been a significant rise in group-based and collective art practice that challenges conventional methodologies and ideas of individual authorship in art. Dr Laresa Kosloff, Associate Professor Andy Thomson and Anthony Cribb produced a collaborative artwork for the exhibition Weakforce4. This artwork consisted of three large-scale immersive sculptures (500cm high and 400cm in diametre), and a video work (10 mins looped duration), which was presented on an LDC monitor. Research contribution: Important / not important humourously deconstructs ideas related to exhibition support material, "artistic authorship" and the artist persona. The artists created three large-scale immersive sculptures within the gallery space, which viewers could physically enter. These sculptures were humourously contextualised by mock interviews recorded to video by the collaborating artists. The artists express differing attitudes and conceptual appraisal of their work, highlighting subjective bias and the contextual basis of art. Important / not important humourously explores the psychological and relational basis of artistic production in relation to supplementary narration and sculptural form. Research significance: The significance of this research is that the collaborating artists were able to extend their practices through a project that used humour and ironic parody to explore the relational basis of art making. Thomson, Cribb and Kosloff's collaboration was part of a broader presentation of group-based artworks, participatory events and performances orchestrated by UFT (Unified Field Theory) for the exhibition Weakforce4. Associate Professor Andy Thomson and Dr Laresa Kosloff are core members of UFT, a visual arts organisation that has produced exhibitions in Canada, the UK, Korea and New Zealand to date.