For the exhibition Obscured by Clouds Arlo Mountford has installed a timber beam across the width of the gallery’s entrance, operating as a stand for a monitor and several speakers which are mounted to face into the gallery. The viewer’s attention is subtly drawn to their surroundings by being forced to duck under the support structure to see the screen. Obscured by Clouds the film presents appropriated imagery in the form of animation and segments from popular movies, alongside an 8-channel soundscape. In this film, Mountford reflects on the ways in which context can influence viewpoints and perceptions of an image as either sinister or calming. As the list of references in Obscured by Clouds accumulates, a range of interpretations is encouraged from the viewer.
Select solo exhibitions: Playing the Fool, MADA Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne 2020; Deep Revolt, Shepparton Art Museum, Shepparton, 2019; Deep Revolt, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Goulburn, 2018; Out of Time, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne, 2018; 100 Years, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne, 2016; Galaxy Express, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne, 2014; The Copse, Sutton Project Space, Melbourne, 2013; The Vanishing Point of History, La Trobe University Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2011; Animated Video Art, Shepparton Regional Gallery, Shepparton, 2010; The Hacienda must be Built, The Art Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 2009.
Select group exhibitions: Design and Play, RMIT Design Hub, Melbourne, 2016; Sub 12, TheSubstation, Newport, 2014; Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2013; Forever Young: 30 Years of the Heide Collection, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 2012; Panarama, Casula Powerhouse, Casula, 2012; New Acquisitions in Context, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2011; 21st Century: Art in the First Decade, QAGOMA, Brisbane, 2011; NEW010, Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 2010; Change, MUMA, Melbourne, 2010.
Artist’s profile