MARTIN ZIELINSKI

Australia is a vast continent and the need to travel long distances quickly and efficiently has always been essential in the progress and development of this country, hence the car has become an intrinsic part of our lives.  Universally the car is a symbol of freedom, independence and mobility, but the type of car you drive, can be a statement about your wealth, social status and individuality.

Growing up in the Western suburbs of Melbourne, it seemed that the car was an extension of the individuals character, just like the clothes you wore or the music you chose to listen to, hence many people I knew sought to express their individuality by customizing their cars.  This current series investigates the iconic aesthetics of Australian cars in particular what we commonly know as 'muscle cars', immortalized by races such as "Bathurst 1000" and on the screen in Aussie classics like "Mad Max".

Often working with industrial machinery (routers/sanders) and material (auto enamel) Martin attempts to maintain a working class sensibility, being drawn towards craftsmanship.  "I like to be faithful to the material I am engaging with...".

Cars are a form of mobile space, where we spend so much of our lives, whether its leisure or work everyone has a significant story attached to a car, being your first car, sexual experience or the trauma of a car accident, they reflect so much about our needs, desires, tastes and politics, we all have stories that begin and end with a road trip.

oad trip.

PAST EXHIBITIONS

'Western Front', 2005

Artist Bio

Stockroom