Descartes’ Error

The philosophy of flesh

By The Hunter Bros

 

Philosophy is not just an academic discipline. Consciously and unconsciously it informs our values and our relationship to ourselves and to the world. Much of that relationship today is based on the dualist notions of a separate body and mind that Rene Descartes formalised in the early 17th century.

 

Modern cognitive science research is now establishing just how wrong his armchair musings were and the world is seeing the consequences of an approach where the mental and the abstracted ideal is privileged over our biological reality. Maybe now we can exercise Ockham’s razor and cut adrift the superfluous, counterproductive and archaic notions that no longer serve us well and develop a philosophy of embodied mind that celebrates our fleshiness, biology and sensuality and gives the basis for a better fit in the world.

 

Cain and Todd Hunter

 

All the stories that the titles are based on are true and are derived from the models that we have worked with in compiling this exhibition. Only the people have been changed to protect their identities. These drawings have not been tested on animals.
gallery window image and signage Who really lookws at the work at an openingwell some people spent time looking at the work and not justwasting time socializingThere are never enough seats in a gallery for one to sit and contemplate the work, or at least rest the backTwice or more than life size gives a very different presence to the figureThe gallery has a lot of good points but they obvious need a lot more lights to effectively light the exhibitionLuckily those who got there early had a bit of space to take in the workVideoing the opening or at least the musicians which some people (the lead musician) feels is the only important part of the whole eventSilent beat performing original compositions inspired by the exhibitionvery short people make the drawings look even biggergerald soworka (in the gold pants) the artists' representative at the openingHomage to Salvador Dali. a direct appropriation of a typical Dali figure. Dali was the earliest and one of the most profound influences on the developing artists.Looking across the gallery from the rear. Drawings hung in the space on muslin veils cause the audience to consciously negotiate the gallery space and play the sculptural illusion of space and form in the drawingsAbu graib provides some of the defining images of our generationeach of the hanging drawings is has the front and back view of the same figure to create a 2 dimensional sculpturehomage to Albrecht Durer - Adam and (St)Eve - a metaphor for many of the dualities that characterize many of our modern mythsmore people looking at the art. That is what it is supposed to be aboutNew gallery director, Vicki Salisbury, in arts admin black, doing the rounds at the openingWe couldn't do a whole exhibition without getting in at least one cane toadStructuralist and post-structuralist elements dominate the rear view of Adam and (St)EveFrom the front she appears female but the view from behind reveals a bit of basic genital origami

by the hunter bros. represented in australia by gerald soworka

descartes error

- the philosophy of flesh

Photo Gallery

Here you will find thumbnail images of the opening night of the exhibition.

To view the drawings click on the image containing it. You can view a slide show from there.

Early Opening night at the gallery

Date: 6 October 2006
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