Robert J Mc Caffrey artist/designer is from the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia. "HOMMAGE" is the title of this exhibition opening in October 2021 at the Perth Concert Hall . As is often the case with Robert's exhibitions, "more is always better" rather than "less is more". He expresses in a variety of disciplines, media and on a multitude of surfaces, and is conscious of the assimilation of the works. It is obvious to him that the connections remain intact. This exhibition is not a monothematic showcase, it is a culmination of works-a "responsive" collection, which contains new, current and past works.
Robert's personal attachment to the lives lived by those who inspire him is essential to his creative practice. There are obvious emotive connections to the creatives' works and to the historical and non-fictional private existence of these artists. Through symbolism, he creates "reactions" and "connections" which are not so obvious.
'HOMMAGE" includes tributes to the many who have suffered mentally and physically in our lifetimes and beyond-the child and adult abuse by the Catholic clergy and the insufferable torture practiced and enforced by the Nazi regime. He pays homage to the minorities interned in the concentration camps during World War II, creating images and references to those issued with the pink and black triangles that identified the gay, disabled and mentally impaired who were interned or exterminated during the Aktion 4 program directives by Nazi bureaucrats.
There are several collections in "HOMMAGE" that follow themes, subjects and topics that drive his need for an emotive response. The sculptures and many of the crafted frames have been created in collaboration with local and regional experienced and technically superior tradesmen and artisans and the concepts and ideas continually morph.
Inspiration has come fror a myriad of global creatives, past and present. Biographical detail and historical fact are interwoven in the themes and subjects . Evident in the resultant works are the references to his immediate environments, both here at home and overseas.
The enormity of the works created by multi-disciplined artists and professionals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is explored and explodes in "HOMMAGE".
"HOMMAGE" Robert pays tribute to the recognizable, the forgotten and some unknown artists of the Wiener Werkstatte workshops and to the major influencers whose collective creative genius have been his driving force these past few years-Hundertwasser, Schiele, Hoffman, Moser, Floge, Klimt, Urban, Wieselthier, Zulow, Sanger and a host of other creatives, artisans, craftspeople and specialist tradespeople who made tangible, the ideas and concepts of these multi skilled polymaths.
"HOMMAGE" consists of mixed media wheatbelt landscapes on paper, on canvas and board, object d'art, architectural studies, portraiture, wearable art, aerial views and contemporary interpretive tributes to the traditional, human form, flamenco dancers, fashion and to the familial.