2015 > Whitewash

Whitewash was developed during a residency at Fremantle Arts Centre during 2015 and 2016. The work was shown at Free Range Gallery in March, 2016.

Whitewash: ‘a deliberate attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about a person or organization in order to protect their reputation.’ (Oxford Dictionary)

McAlpine’s first solo exhibition Whitewash aims to bring attention to the whitewashing of Australia’s colonial history and the way it is normalized in contemporary Australia. The artworks grapple with the often-standardised version of our colonial history through multi-disciplinary outcomes. Whitewash utilises found objects including furniture, found paintings and ornate frames, familiar colonial motifs and red earth. The red earth manipulates found objects and colonial motifs, altering original meanings and suggesting whitewashing.


Whitewash: Tom Robert's The Breakaway
Red earth and binder on found painting
Detail Shot
2015
Whitewash: Tom Robert's The Breakaway
Red earth and binder on found painting
68cm x 81cm
2015
Whitewash: Charles Conder's Summer Idyll
Found frame, red earth and binder on watercolour paper
36.5cm x 25.5cm
2016
Whitewash: Tom Robert's The Artists' Camp
Red earth and binder on found painting
36cm x 30cm
2016
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's Down on His Luck 2
Red earth and binder on found painting
81cm x 62cm
2016
Whitewash: Arthur Streeton's Green Valley
Red earth and binder on found painting
73cm x 50.5cm
2016
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's Down on His Luck
Found frame, red earth and binder on watercolour paper
39.5cm x 31.5cm
2015
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's Lost 2
Red earth and binder on found painting
81cm x 74cm
2016
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's Winter Eve South Yarra
Red earth and binder on found painting
54cm x 56cm
2016
Whitewash: Arthur Streeton's Near Heidelberg
Red earth and binder on found painting
43cm x 53cm
2015
Whitewash: Arthur Streeton's Golden Summer, Eaglemont
Found frame, red earth and binder on watercolour paper
86cm x 50cm
2015
Whitewash: Arthur Streeton's Sydney Harbour
Red earth and binder on found painting
46cm x 46.5cm
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's Lost
Red earth and binder on found painting
60cm x 90cm
2015
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's Lost
Red earth and binder on found painting
Detail Shot
2015
Whitewash: Tom Robert's The Sunny South
Red earth and binder on found painting
60cm x 47cm
2016
Whitewash: Tom Robert's Holiday Sketch at Coogee
Red earth and binder on found painting
60cm x 47cm
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Whitewash: Frederick Garling's Red Banks, 30 Miles up Swan River
Found frame, red earth and binder on watercolour paper
41cm x 30cm
2015
Whitewash: Frederick McCubbin's The Lost Child
Red earth and binder on found painting
43cm x 53.5cm
2015
Whitewash: Louis Buvelot's Winter Morning Near Heidelberg
Red earth and binder on found painting
91cm x 69cm
2016
Whitewash: Louis Buvelot's Winter Morning Near Heidelberg
Red earth and binder on found painting
Detail Shot
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016
Whitewash: David Davie's A Hot Day
Found frame, red earth and binder on watercolour paper
27cm x 21cm
2016
Installation Shot
Free Range Gallery
2016