From dioramas to dolls' houses, atomic models to cloud-chambers, mandalas to maquettes, 'A Working Model of the World' gathers together charismatic objects created to help us understand the world around us and imagine new possibilities. The exhibition explores the way models are used to create and share knowledge, and asks how we use models to contemplate, experiment, invent and teach.

Presenting outstanding new and existing artworks alongside emblematic and evocative models borrowed from public, private and research collections, the exhibition stages a conversation between different forms of material thinking from many disciplines. The exhibition features artists who examine the role of models in human experience, and deploy techniques and forms of model-making in their work.

Artists
Brook Andrew
Corinne May Botz
Ian Burns
caraballo-farman
Maria Fernanda Cardoso
Kate Dunn
David Eastwood
Emily Floyd
Andrea Fraser
Jeff Preiss
Glen Hayward
Peter Hennessey
Jo Law
Tony Mott
Palle Nielsen
Kenzee Patterson
Sascha Pohflepp & Chris Woebken
Esme Timbery

Lenders
Andrea Durbach
CSIRO
City of Sydney
Durbach Block Jaggers
MACBA
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
The University of Sydney
Casula Powerhouse
Private and Corporate Collections

Curators
Lizzie Muller (UNSW Art & Design) 
Holly Williams (The Curators' Department)

Exhibition Program 

Developed and presented in partnership with UNSW Galleries, Sydney Australia; the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, USA; and The Curators’ Department, Sydney, Australia. The exhibition will be shown in New York from Sep-Dec 2017.

'A Working Model of the World' is curated specifically for university galleries. It is designed to draw from and to draw together research from across the university, including science, sociology, architecture, art and economics. In each venue, the exhibition actively engages with staff and students, using the gallery as a site of cross-disciplinary research and teaching. It demonstrates the unique role university galleries can play in engaging audiences (both within and without the university) in research and knowledge production.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Esme Timbery (Untitled) Opera House 2002. Installation view, 'A Working Model of the World', UNSW Galleries, 2017. Photo: Silversalt Photography

 

Emily Floyd Kesh Letterpress 2016. Installation view, 'A Working Model of the World', UNSW Galleries, 2017. Photo: Silversalt Photography

 

Tony Mott, Model Train series 2014. Installation view 'A Working Model of the World', UNSW Galleries, 2017. Photo: Silversalt Photography

 

Installation view, 'A Working Model of the World', UNSW Galleries, 2017. Pictured: Brook Andrew Tombs of Thought: Water 2017; Andrea Durbach and The Upington 2 Matchstick Boat 1990. Photo: Silversalt Photography

Public Program

Kesh Letterpress: Block Printing Workshop with Emily Floyd
10am–1pm Monday 8 May, Printmaking Studio, G Block UNSW Art & Design

Exhibiting artist Emily Floyd and Michael Kempson of Cicada Press lead a workshop to create original prints using Floyd’s specially created typeface for Ursula K. Le Guin's invented Kesh alphabet.

Curatorial Tour & Floor Talk
4pm Thursday 11 May, UNSW Galleries

Dr Lizzie Muller and Holly Williams discuss the ideas in the exhibition.

Modelling Knowledge: University Galleries as Spaces to Think
5pm Thursday 11 May, UNSW Galleries

A keynote lecture by Prof. Radhika Subramaniam, Director/Chief Curator, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons School of Design/The New School, New York, exploring the role of university galleries in the research and cultural landscape.

Re-Working the Model
6–9pm Thursday 1 June, UNSW Galleries & Makerspace Workshop, UNSW Art & Design

We think of models as instructional objects and intriguing miniatures, but rarely do we pause to consider the invisible models that influence our daily life.  UNSW Galleries and Makerspace present 'Re-Working the Model', an evening of interventions to help us re-think the models that shape our world. Developed by students as part of a Curatorial Studio in the Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership program, UNSW Art & Design.

Keynote: The Future of the Model
5–7pm Thursday 8 June, UNSW Art & Design, EG02 Lecture Theatre

This keynote by Prof. Sarah Kenderdine takes you on a journey into the future of museums, where digital models are changing our understanding of aura, authenticity and authorship, and even changing age-old models of experience itself. Following the lecture, experience immersive screenings of a diverse range of digital models from multi-dimensional fractals to pathways of disease inside a single human cell at the Expanded Perception and Interaction Centre (EPICentre).

How We Teach and Learn with Models
9am–1pm Thursday 20 July, UNSW Art & Design, D106 Black Box

A fast-paced forum exploring three-dimensional thinking in teaching and learning. Inspiring teachers from across UNSW will show how they use models to investigate and communicate ideas with students. Chaired by Dr Katrina Simon (UNSW Built Environment), and Dr Lizzie Muller (UNSW Art & Design).