A simple act (detail)

The monumental cultural presence of sport in Australia presents a significant challenge to artists. Kate Daw and Stewart Russell are prompted to ask whether any noble value might emerge from sport. They find their answer in the life of Olympian Peter Norman, who supported the civil rights protest of African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Games. Their message is clear, Norman is a winner not simply because he shared an Olympic podium but because he put a commitment to human rights before his own personal interests. Like the other artists in this exhibition, Daw and Russell are drawn to the elements of visual intensity in the incident: badges, logos, uniforms and gestures frozen by newspaper photographers. Sport may be seen by some as the antithesis of art and yet it invests just as heavily in the power of the image.