Oliver Watts

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Oliver Watts (born 1976) is a contemporary artist, lecturer and theorist.

Biography[]

Watts was born in Sydney, Australia. He studied Arts and Law, gaining Honours, at Sydney University. In 2010, he received a PhD in Art History and Theory, the title of his thesis being ‘Images on the Limit of Law: Sovereignty, Modernism and the Effigy.’

Work[]

Oliver Watts works across a variety of media, ranging from performance to painting, collage.^[1] Watts’ chief concern is the nexus of art and law, while his works are guided by this question: how do images command? For Watts this implies that art should function in a subversive manner, challenging the very foundations upon which our society is founded. In a 2010 group exhibition, ‘Triplicated’, Watts demonstrated how the law is both desirable and desirous. He revisited the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the princess and a mythical sea-hare. Through videos and collage Watts has illustrated and sophomorically^[2] obfuscated the story through a variety of methods from jokes to critical theory.

In his recent body of work, the BarresTrial Series, Watts looks closely at a Dada performance of 1921 which aped the law. Tristan Tzara made trouble as a witness, with André Breton the judge, insisting that even a Dada law would be bogus; it is this nihilistic and absurdist spirit that Watts channels. In an obsessive replaying Watts translated the testimony from the French and then performed it. His collages are based on this translation, which he also presented to the annual conference of the Association of Art Historians in Glasgow in 2010.^[3] In his work Watts uncovers the strange and wonderful ideological images and performances that underpin our society, from law to religion; from sport to racial violence. His work proposes that art has a subversive part to play within these frameworks of power.

In October 2010, Oliver Watts was also featured in the prestigious international art journal, Art in America

In his lectures, Watts often draws parallels between art theory and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels and film franchise.

He presented to the annual conference of the Association of Art Historians in Glasgow in 2010. He is a lecturer of Art Theory at University of New South Wales and Sydney University. Among his published work are: ‘Behind the Lines’;^[4] ‘Love, Life and Politics’ (National Museum of Australia); ‘Intelligence Failure’, (The Chaser Annual: Text Media).

Exhibitions[]

Watt’s solo exhibitions include: ‘The Golden Probe’, ‘Crimes Against Dada’ (Chalk Horse Gallery); ‘Three Suns’ (Helen Gory Gallery, Melbourne); ‘Smoking Guns’ (Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong); Frontier Photobooth, (1/2 Doz. Festival); Pioneers (MOP Projects). He has also exhibited in many group shows, of which include: ‘Triplicated’ (Chalk Horse Gallery); ‘Driftwood’ (MOP Projects); ‘Hairbrush’ (Wren Gallery, Sydney).

Prizes[]

Watts has received a number of distinguished prizes. These include: Mosman Art Prize (Finalist), 2005–06; Helen Lempriere Traveling Scholarship (Finalist), 2005; Brett Whiteley Traveling Scholarship (Finalist), 2004–05. His portrait of "Dorian Gray (Eryn Jean Norvill)" was a Finalist for the 2021 Archibald Prize.^[5]

External links[]

• Chalk Horse Gallery

References[]