Ready to Rumble
Gordon Hookey
Amongst the increasing political tension and global defence of the Coronavirus pandemic, Gordon Hookey takes on the position of ringside commentator. Ready to Rumble takes aim at the confrontational leadership of Donald Trump and his management of the global pandemic. The boxing match, which becomes synonymous with political realities, highlights Trump’s infant-like conduct as a global leader.
Gordon Hookey, Ready to Rumble, 2020, HD video, stereo audio, 00:00:47. Documentation: Charlie Hillhouse
Gordon Hookey was born in Cloncurry, Queensland in 1961. He currently lives and works in Brisbane. Hookey belongs to the Waanyi people and locates his art at the interface where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures converge. He explicitly attacks the establishment and implicates our current political representatives. His style and approach is distinctive in its vibrancy and best known for its biting satire of Australia’s political landscape, its leaders and representatives. Hookey's work combines figurative characters, iconic symbols, bold comic-like text, and a spectrum of vibrant colours. Through this idiosyncratic visual language he has developed a unique and immediately recognisable style. Hookey’s perspective comes from a divergent, activist positioning—his work challenges hierarchies, skewering the status and integrity of the ‘elite’, while working to bolster the position of the marginalised and oppressed.
Hookey is a core member of Brisbane-based Indigenous collective proppaNOW alongside fellow artists including Richard Bell, Vernon Ah Kee, and Jennifer Herd. His work is held in major collections within Australia including the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, University of Queensland Art Museum, Art Gallery of Western Australia, National Gallery of Australia, Australian National University in Canberra, National Gallery of Victoria, University of Technology, Sydney, and a number of significant private collections.