FBi Radio’s first online art auction brings together over 70 of Australia’s most well-known artist such as Abdul Abdullah, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, Janet Laurence, Jason Phu, Justene Williams, Khaled Sabsabi, Ken Done, Lindy Lee, Mike Parr, and Reg Mombassa — among many others.
Designed to raise critical funds for FBi Radio and the artists involved, the auction also acts as a way to bring creatives together in a time of isolation and reconnect as a community. After previously been held at venues such as MCA, AGNSW and NAS, the FBi art auction has adapted to an entirely digital platform in light of COVID restrictions. Closing on Friday 26th June at 7pm, the online site gives anyone the chance to bid on their favourite artworks and take home a classic piece of Australian art history from a year we won’t forget.
Current Biennale of Sydney artist, Tony Albert, presents I Want to Believe (2019), in acrylic on archival paper, that continues his line of investigating historical truth through collaboration and cross-cultural communication. “The local art scene has always been supported through the FBi and vice versa,” the Sydney-based artist shares. “The FBi Art Auction is our way of giving back to a shared platform— there are plenty of art studios out there with FBi Radio on a daily rotation.”
Fellow artist Jamie North also reflects on this sense of local community, especially in the last few challenging months. “I’m a regular listener to FBi and have found it even more relevant during the fires and pandemic,” he reflects. “It’s programming often captures my mood and improves it with a sense of vitality, connectivity and hope.”
We can see this narration throughout North’s own work in the auction, Remainder No.26 (2018), which connects humanmade materials like concrete and blast furnace slag (a by-product of the steel making industry) mixed with Australian native plants,(in this case, the rock-felt fern). The artwork will continue to live and grow — inspiring hope through the Anthropocene and natures refusal to give in to human’s destruction.
This grows as a reoccurring theme throughout the auction for a country that is post-bushfires and in the midst of a pandemic and cyber-attacks while on the tipping point of global despair in police brutality. Yet, alongside the serious and reflective artworks are fun, pop, and pastel art such as, Evi O’s summery acrylic painting, Bacio (2016), Eliza Gosse’s oil on board, Are We There Yet (2020), and Lynda Draper’s ceramic wall piece FAE (2019) — revealing art to be a distraction or recording of socio-political emotions.
There is something for every art perspective, and with sales going to a good cause, it’s worth bidding! As artist Dean Cross shares, “FBi is crucial in keeping Sydney’s cultural finest connected and informed through its diverse reach across communities. Show some love and support the legends who support so many themselves!”