Suburban Isolation | 2021

Suburban Isolation is the culmination of Adrian Doyle’s research into the intersection between street art and fine art. From working on large-scale water-towers in the desert, to creating one of the largest models of ‘artist as consultant’ through a 2 year residency at The District shopping centre in Docklands, this research has taken Doyle on a journey through mediums and ideas enabling thorough exploration of this juncture. During this extended research period, Doyle has created a number of important projects which have all led to this exhibition, Suburban Isolation.

In this exhibition, Doyle presents a series of paintings, an immersive installation, and a highly detailed miniature model. Each medium has been carefully chosen to reference and apply techniques and concepts from both street art and fine art, resulting in a highly considered reflection on a language that is deeply rooted in the artist’s suburban origins and has been a focus of his entire practice and research. The ‘Australian Dream’ underpins each work, and offers a critical analysis on the cross-section of fine art and street art, whilst sharing insights into our collective experiences.

Paintings: The paintings are clearly placed within the fine art context, yet there is an undeniable feel of the street. For this exhibition I have been able to change some of my applications and techniques, and blend aspects of my street art with my fine art paintings creating a new balance between the two.

These paintings examine themes of isolation and the Australian Dream. Over the years I have developed a language that is deeply rooted in my suburban origins, and it has been the focus of my entire practice. To create fine art with a street art link, I had to draw on the iconography and ideas that I naturally use from both forms of expression to help inform this connection.

The Pool Room: This is a large-scale, interactive, and site-specific installation that reflects on and continues many of the ideas of ‘Empty-Nursery Blue Laneway’, an artwork I created in 2013 in Rutledge Lane, Melbourne. This artwork aims to offer an immersive experience that feels like you are inside a swimming pool. As the work is kinetic and it will be reflected in the mirrors, it may evoke a feeling of vertigo for the viewer.

A model studio: Whilst doing this research project I began to consider links between the street art movement and fine art, and how an artwork can exist across both contexts. At some point I realised that The Blender Studio is in itself a living and evolving artwork that I have been creating, curating, and building since its beginnings. Therefore, I am presenting the Blender Studios as an artwork. To encapsulate this idea, I have represented Blender Studios as an artwork in the form of a highly detailed model. The idea of Blender as an artwork places it in a realm of situational aesthetics and kindly references the ‘Walled Off Hotel’ by Banksy. Banksy’s artwork is an excellent example of art that sits at the intersection of fine art, street art and relational aesthetics.