SHTF

Guy Louden, Loren Kronemyer & Dan McCabe

Opening 06.09.18 6-8pm
Artist Talks 28.10.18 6-7pm

SHTF is an exhibition by Guy Louden, Loren Kronemyer, and Dan McCabe about preppers.

Preppers are a subculture of people that prepare for the collapse of society. They collect specialised survival products, skills, and knowledge. Prepping is both a hobby and a world view. It has its own aesthetics, vocabulary, and consumer objects, and also its own values and fantasies, centered around the moment of collapse and its aftermath, or, in prepper terms “when shit hits the fan (SHTF)”.

In our emerging geopolitical era uncertainty is widespread. Prepping is the spirit of our times. For preppers, economic, environmental, technological, and military disaster is inevitable. Its menacing “tactical” survival skills and specialised outdoor gear reveal an apocalyptic individualism focused on preserving the self. The slick commodi(fi)cation of existential collapse re ect an absurd predicament, where preparing for total breakdown of a society seems more desirable than improving it. Preppers are betting against the house: they are emotionally, (fi)nancial, and socially invested in apocalypse.

The artists have come together to create SHTF based on a mutual fascination and investment in the prepping lifestyle. At Firstdraft, they will present sculptural, digital and wall- mounted works examining this subculture. Dan will exhibit a large wall mounted sculpture imitating tactical survival aesthetics. Guy will produce a custom interactive video game investigating the menacing psychology of the prepper subculture. Loren will produce an installation that weaponizes the existing gallery infrastructure. SHTF is the second in a series of related exhibitions exploring this theme.

Biography

Guy Louden is an artist and curator born in Toronto and based in Perth, Australia. After completing an MA at the University of Manchester he joined Perth gallery Moana Project Space in 2013, becoming Director. In 2015 Guy co-founded and developed a large-scale experimental gallery, Success, continuing as Programme Manager. Throughout this period he curated major exhibitions, including for the Perth International Arts Festival in 2015 and 2016, published essays, and exhibited art.

Loren Kronemyer is an internationally exhibiting artist from Los Angeles, California. Graduating with a BFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute, she moved to Perth to work with the SymbioticA lab, obtaining a Masters of Biological Arts at the University of Western Australia. Loren has exhibited widely, including recent projects Brackish Rising for the Perth International Arts Festival; Ecosexual Bathhouse at PICA, Performance Space, and Next Wave Festival; and shows including Here&Now 2015 at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, and Proximity Festival 2014+2013.

Dan McCabe is a contemporary artist born in Brisbane, Australia. Since completing a BFA (hons 1) at the Queensland College of Art, he has exhibited widely, including at A-CH Gallery, Gri th University Art Gallery, John Paynter Gallery, QCP, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Metro Arts, Ryan Renshaw Gallery, Moana Project Space and Success, Fremantle. His work has appeared at the 2016 Next Wave festival and Spring1883 art fair, and in residencies internationally and in Perth. Dan was exhibition coordinator at Moana Project Space and at Success, Fremantle.