Set Pieces is an exhibition of seven new sculptures by John Meade, the majority of which are fabricated in foundry-cast aluminium and incorporate additional materials and surface effects. His objects move from bodily to architectural, dressed in seductive glossy painted surfaces and adorned with beads and other unexpected accessories. In this exhibition Meade is literally staging his sculptural objects and the scene is set.

The issue of presentation and exhibition display has been of interest to Meade since his first solo exhibition Impostor, where his figures were installed in the back room of The Basement Project in Melbourne in 1995 – separated from the rigors of performing for the viewer. This aspect of presentation and theatricality is a strongly recurring element in Meade’s practice.

For Set Pieces, Meade presents a sensory experience: an ensemble of objects interacting spatially within a unified presentation. In this way, his installation can be viewed as one overarching performance, or as a display of individual sculptures. Meade sees these works as both complete objects, bold and dramatic in an interior context, as well as marquette’s for large scale exterior pieces.

For Set Pieces, Meade is once again working with lighting designer Ben Cobham, who brings his skill an intelligence to establish the mood of the gallery space and to accentuate the emotional and visual qualities of the abstract sculptures. Display structures, which combine lighting, a steel curtain and a series of mirrors, are carefully composed to enable the sculptures to perform at their best, effectively creating an atmosphere which supports and enhances the viewer’s engagement with the objects.