DEXTER DAVEY

Dates of residency: May till July 2016
Born: 1982
Nationality: Australian
Lives and works: Worldwide

THE ARTIST
Emerging from a hefty international career in the feature film sector as a Visual Effects artist, Dexter is uniquely positioned in a transition between arts sectors. He embraces his understanding and knowledge of creative technologies as a foundation to explore, develop and create work. In his practice he pursues the discovery and communication of fresh perspectives on divergent societies and cultures, ‘endeavouring to find how our similarities and also our differences can foster symbiosis with each other and the natural world’. 

THE RESIDENCY
The civil conflict of the 2005 Cronulla Riots in Sydney Australia, was a manifestation of the passive and often subliminal racism, bigotry and xenophobia in the country. It became apparent that the story of Australia's cultural conflict between young white men with young men of middle eastern descent, needed research beyond that available on Australian soil. Dexter discovered the Beirut Art Residency in Lebanon and set forth to undergo a research period at BAR. The work (still in development) investigates the transgenerational trauma spawn from violence, religion, masculinity and assimilation. While in residence Dexter also exhibited the piece  Bearing West 4 Eva, a semi interactive moving image work, depicting a cinematic scene of a skateboarder forever rolling toward an eternally setting sun.