Canopy Art Centre, Cairns 2016

Arcade, instigated and curated by the artist collective Knock Knock Contemporary Artists' Initiative, highlights the complex relationship between art, artists and the art of making money. Seven artists – Raewyn Biggs, Barbara Dover, Louisa Ennis-Thomas, Vide Freiberg, Julie Poulsen, Rose Rigley and Jennifer Valmadre – create works responding to this challenging theme. Arcade offers the temptation to purchase an original artwork and a unique opportunity to reflect upon the art of consumption.

Artist Statement - Barbara Dover

The materials from which the works are constructed once had a commercial value. In their original state, these materials were objects which had a function as vinyl records, woollen blanket and playing cards, hence they also had real monetary value. Now, as materials for artworks, the idea of value has shifted and changed to their worth as an artwork. This type of worth implies other levels of value such as conceptual, aesthetic and technical; therefore, changing views of commercial/monetary and functional value into considerations about the worth of an artwork. This raises the question: what is it that we value in an artwork?