The following exerts are from The Jokes On You by Leroy Sweatshirt, from the catalogue, Rob Hood Who Laughs Last? published by Jonathan Smart Gallery on the occasion of this exhibition.

“The artists appears to have laid out a series of practical jokes…..There is the bucket on a pole following on from that same youthful prank of the bucket on the door; these works were exhibited at SOFA Gallery and First Draft in Sydney; I’m informed that the bucket has contained a variety of substances on various outings from flour and water…..and invariably the bucket and its contents are scattered over the gallery floor…..Frustrating peoples expectations with a bit of comic relief, old fashioned slapstick has its origins way back, lets not go there, other than to say that Duchamp and Picabia were a good comic duo, one tall and slim the other short and chubby. Then there are the bricks sitting around…..generally getting in the way, asking to be picked-up, but again they are not quite what they seem. They seem to work well as mates, one hollow the other a dead weight caste of lead, again duping the unsuspecting into the artist’s gag. The lead brick weighs 18kg and I can only lift it with two hands. Of course the hollow brick smelling of perfume has the opposite effect…..The obstinate quality of the brick is partly what aids in the deception and the fact they have been painted in a way that they look like a regular brick. The artist has caste his initials into the brick much like a regular found brick, which usually has the maker’s name inset into the top surface. Bricks are one of those objects that seem to be everywhere, particularly in the artist’s hometown of Christchurch…..

The buckets on poles and the bricks sit quietly under the watchful eye of the Cyclops, serialized, folded and collapsed collages sourced from art and fashion mags, blown up big on one of those cheap printers….” and framed original collages are grouped elsewhere on the gallery walls. (J.S.)

Press release courtesy Jonathan Smart Gallery.