GOMA,Water.CAMRip

GOMA.Water.CAMRip was exhibited with Boxcopy and was impacted by COVID-19 due to closures. As of the 14th of July the show still remains up via a statement and the works are still in the space. The show because of the lockdown has outlasted the original showing time of Water and as such as developed a newer context as the remnant of the blockbuster which was also impacted by COVID-19.

GOMA.Water.Camrip is an installation, which pirates elements of the blockbuster exhibition Water, which was at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) from the 7th of December till the 23rd of March. McLeish has recreated works from the exhibition in the style of a CAMRip, which are low quality bootlegs of movies that typically display audience silhouettes and bad audio.

The low quality recreations featured in this show allude to the original works in Water, which range from photographs, to moving image and installation. McLeish posits that the ideas explored in Water are vital to current political discourse, effectively communicating the necessity and vitality of water in our lives and communities. However, she suggests that the $18 adult entry fee is prohibitive to certain audiences, and puts pressure on the institution to provide what certain publics might perceive as value for money. GOMA.Water.CAMRip aims to highlight these concerns by creating a bootleg of the exhibition, with free entry.

As the Australian art-world grapples with a continued lack of support from governments, McLeish questions whether public cultural institutions have a duty to provide complete accessibility, or must rely on public contributions in order to self-sustain.