Cosmic Love Wonder Lust – Archive
The enduringly influential artist run collective Imperial Slacks operated for five years, from 1997 to 2002, in a residential space on Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills. The historic rag trade building became a complex of studios and social circles surrounding it were a progressive platform for interdisciplinary and emergent practices.
Many of the Imperial Slacks artists first exhibited publicly at this time and have subsequently gone on to establish and lead successful and significant careers in contemporary art, design, media technology and other related creative fields.
The core group at the heart of the space included UNSW Art & Design graduates Shaun Gladwell, Angelica Mesiti, Emma Price, Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy, Wade Marynowsky, Alex Davies, Techa Noble, Michael Schiavello, Melody Willis, Lea Donnan, Simon Cooper and Laura Jordan, plus Chris Fox – who have come together in 2015 for Cosmic Love Wonder Lust – The Imperial Slacks Project.
Curated by Nicholas Tsoutas and Michael Dagostino this important project at both Campbelltown Arts Centre and the SCA Galleries takes a retrospective approach and traces the journey of Imperial Slacks, exploring the collective and individual artists involved as well as the role of the artist run space in the wider visual arts ecosystem.