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. It 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.

A working model of the world features artists who examine the role of models in human experience, and deploy techniques and forms of model-making in their work, including in the Sydney iteration: 

• 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.

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.

Curated by Lizzie Muller (UNSW Art & Design) and Holly Williams (The Curators’ Department)

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

A working model of the world Public Programs

Kesh Letterpress
Block Printing Workshop with Emily Floyd
Monday 8 May, 10am-1pm

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.

Book here.

Curators’ Floor Talk
Thursday 11 May, 4-4.45pm

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

Modelling Knowledge: University Galleries as Spaces to Think
Thursday 11 May, 5-6pm

A keynote lecture by Prof. Radhika Subramaniam, Director/Chief Curator, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons School of Design/The New School, New York.

A working model of the world is a collaboration between UNSW Galleries and the Sheila C Johnson Design Center. This talk explores the role of university galleries in the research and cultural landscape.

Book here.

Re-Working the Model
Thursday 1 June, 6-9pm

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.  Join UNSW Galleries and Makerspace for Re-Working the Model, an evening of interventions to help us re-think the models that shape our world.

Re-Working the Model is developed by students as part of a Curatorial Studio in the Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership, UNSW Art & Design.

The Future of the Model
Thursday 8 June, 5-7pm

This keynote lecture 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).

Book here.

How we Teach and Learn with Models
Thursday 20 July, 9am-1pm
Black Box, First floor, D Block.

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 Faculty of the Built Environment), and Dr Lizzie Muller (UNSW Art and Design).  

Book here.

Download the exhibition program here.