Space Oddity
Tom Buckland
Exhibition and residency
26 November 2021 – 6 February 2022
In a typical late nineties living room, lying on the floor and bathed in blue light from
a flickering TV, a young Tom Buckland becomes transfixed with science fiction.
Many long hours were spent absorbed in these far away alien fantasy worlds
crafting spacesuits and spaceships from toilet rolls, cereal boxes, egg cartons and
whatever else could be scavenged. This was the beginnings of a lifetime
fascination with science fiction, theatre and making.
1968’s seminal science-fiction epic ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ directed by Stanley
Kubrick was one such movie that left a deep impression on a young Buckland. It’s
a deeply fascinating and mysterious film, a psychedelic mind-bending journey
through space and time in which Kubrick redefined the limits of film-making. In a
nostalgic reflection to the multitudes of homemade cardboard starships and moonbases
of his youth, a now slightly taller Buckland will attempt to lovingly rebuild,
recreate and refilm this iconic movie entirely within the gallery space. A love letter
to science fiction, making and the power of childhood imagination.
About the artist
Tom Buckland is a visual artist who deals in a correspondence of imaginary worlds. With sculpture, performance and video he creates work heavily influenced by his own fascination with science fiction and fantasy, topped off with refined joyful absurdism. He enjoys playing with audience interaction, taking much enjoyment in transporting his audience to other worlds across space and time.
Tom graduated from the Australian National University School of Art with a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours in 2015 and was the recipient of the John and Elizabeth Baker Honours scholarship and the Canberra Contemporary Art Space graduate award. Buckland has undertaken residencies at Cementa (NSW, 2018, 2021), Fremantle Arts Centre (WA, 2017) and CCAS (ACT, 2016). In 2021, Tom was the recipient of the Sculpture by the Sea Clitheroe foundation emerging artist mentorship award.
His work is held in numerous public and private collections and has been featured in numerous exhibitions internationally and across Australia.