In Cement Fondu’s inaugural solo exhibition, Australian artist Heath Franco presents a newly commissioned immersive environment VALLEY.

Franco’s practice is concerned with popular culture and the chaos of contemporary existence, which he explores through psychotropic aesthetics, caricature and  surrealist installation.

In VALLEY, architectural and design elements from past video sets reappear like disjointed memories and invasive growths from the gallery floor and walls. Devoid of Franco’s deranged video sprites, what remains are their materials and the chattering echoes of their voices.

Honouring and defying his creative history and artistic identity, this significant exhibition marks an exciting and gutsy departure for an artist whose work we think we know – but can’t claim to any longer.

In a metaphoric burning of his past, Franco’s funeral pyre of mementos performs a ritualistic reckoning with a suffocating pile of expectations. Soundtracks and costumes appear sacrificed. Video is banished.

Franco has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions including Enclosure, DarkMOFO; CLUB LIMBO, MONA FOMA; The National 2017, Carriageworks; and, NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), Artspace, Sydney.

Image: Heath Franco, BREATHING ROOM: CARPETCELL, 2018. Installation with multi-channel video and sound. Installation view: ALASKA projects, Sydney November 2018. Photograph by Zan Wimberley.