Next week, MARS Gallery is proud to host an exhibition of Sebastian Di Mauro newest body of work, a series of army blankets embroidered by his own hand. This incredible artist has exhibited in over 45 solo shows, been a part of over 100 group shows and is coming home from America to showcase his new work that responds to the very notion of place, ‘GREENBACK’.   Di Mauro's his career path has been extraordinary, after being born and educated in Queensland to now residing in Delaware USA and holding over a 100 shows. This relocation of his practice has given him a global perspective of the Australian Art Market. It is from this understanding of these international audiences that Sebastian provides other Australian Artists an insight on how to gain this global voice. 

'GREENBACK’ is a development for Di Mauro’s previous projects, in which there is a greater knowledge in how migration can alter perception. Di Mauro has previously reflected on this decision made by his grandmother and grandfather, as seen in ‘Respirare’ (1999), that also saw him receive a phD at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. In which he responds to these choices by focusing on the language lost after the death of his grandparents’, as well as the untouched mementos that symbolise his cultural bond to Italy and Australia. But now, he has followed in their footsteps and relocated to America and it is time for him to question his own migration.

In a similar and unconventional approach, Di Mauro has found the use of non-traditional materials to harness their ability to convey ideas of ‘Australiana’ vs. ‘Americana’, identity and personal connection or loss. Previously known for having used sugar cane, faux-lawn, neoprene and other paraphernalia to discuss these themes, ‘GREENBACK’ is no different and has been constructed entirely out of embroidered military-grade blankets. Each of the 6 blankets have been made to emblem American history and infrastructure which is printed onto their currency, or, greenbacks. Even though he has used a different technique and approach, this fabric has a distinct similarity to another Di Mauro material, astroturf. Both the currency etched onto the blankets and his sculptural works with synthetic grass indicates a sense of the ‘greener pastures’ that both he and his grandparents have wanted to find. It is a common ideology that has been engraved into Western society which began with a European past, travelling and colonising into what they believed to be unknown territory. Now it is for future wealth and gain for the benefit of the self or family. 

Di Mauro incites a fixation of financial wealth and how both the U.S. and Australia conform for the sake of financial security, or at least to appear secure. “In God We Trust” has been morphed by the holy dollar sign. This fascination with these dichotomies is something that we should consider for ourselves, what do we seek? What is of value to us in this day and age? Who benefits from whom? From this light, Di Mauro’s works almost become warning signs of what is to come if this prioritisation continues by both countries, where soon all that we will have is the money on our backs. 

Power and wealth are no longer seperate entities in the eyes of the U.S. Government, as the exponential amount of financial resources that is given to military is insatiable. It is a time of paramount stress and disorder for many country leaders and with global war on the cusp of erupting, these bodies seem to believe that such measures are necessary to be taken by the American Government to protect themselves, and their assets. The price of war and the price for freedom seem to becoming more and more infused with one another, as Australia follows behind the superpower that is America. Even then, there have been some decisions made by our own Government in which power and relations have trumped over the safety and financial needs of our own people, with economic growth plateauing, slowing and surely falling. From this light, Di Mauro’s works almost become warning signs of what is to come if this prioritisation continues by both countries, where soon all that we will have is the money on our backs. 

Presented in the upstairs gallery of MARS, Di Mauro’s work will transcend us onto the pedestals in which we place these commodities and societal bodies. Wrapped around the walls of the space there is an uncertain warmth that emits from the series of works. Perhaps it is the cold from the room that is felt, or is it the inevitable truth that these blankets are succumb to the power of money and war. And we are marching toward the same fate. This series is a force of warranted political discourse. Its value in catalysing dialogue for Di Mauro’s own personal reflection and its similarities to other first and second generation migrant families, as well as the global issues that overshadow our country and Di Mauro’s new home, should not be ignored. It is a reflection onto the past and how immigration has grown both nations, and yet how these countries are failing the people. But perhaps it is from conjoining the past and present together, we are able to see a better future, provide us with hope. 

Sebastian Di Mauro's 'GREENBACK' exhibition will be opening on Thursday November 7th, from 6-8pm at MARS Gallery in Windsor.