Such is the new solo exhibition called The Curtain Breathed Deeply opening this weekend. 

The exhibition by Justene Williams will be opened at the gallery on Saturday, May 27 at 2pm by the artist. 

The exhibition is an expansive new commission by Sydney-based artist Williams that will transform the gallery into an intentionally chaotic, immersive and interrelated sequence of installations. 

Williams melds references from art history — painting greats such as Picasso, Leger and Kahlo — with a range of everyday pop cultural influences including hip hop music, Milli Vanilli and A Chorus Line. 

Williams was in town on Thursday, preparing her installation.

She said her art contains references to art history, personal narrative about the suburbs and relationships

“It also riffs on popular culture. I grew up in the 70s when there were televisions on in various rooms, so these rooms are like that – you move through them and various images are displayed on screens,” she said.

“My father also used to own a wrecking yard, so I am always collecting old materials and recycling them in my work.

“A lot of it is daggy. I try to transform everyday materials into ‘something else and somewhere else’ and there is also an element of theatre in there. 

“The performance in my work is also based on social rituals such as funerals and weddings. I like using dance and I get people who usually don’t perform to act in my videos.” 

She said the curtain in the work is about her father dying - “the final curtain” - as well as the anxiety of a performer about to go on stage.

Williams said the exhibition was divided roughly into rooms with different colours. 

“Colour evokes feelings and I wanted to create different moods,” she said.

“I believe you can choreograph people through a space.  I work from the heart and I’m interested in communicating visually — seeing, reading and hearing through colour and movement.” 

The Curtain Breathed Deeply continues at the gallery until July 8. 

The Curtain Breathed Deeply is a major touring exhibition curated and developed by Artspace, Sydney and touring nationally in partnership with Museums and Galleries of NSW.