Tom Isaacs is a contemporary artist and curator working primarily in the fields of performance and textile art. His practice draws from psychoanalytic theory, philosophy, religious and ritual practices, and art history to explore themes of mental illness, mortality, and the human condition. He is currently a PhD candidate at Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney University, researching the relationship between ritual, psychoanalysis and body art, and how these different streams of thought address the problem of alienation. Recent exhibitions include: 'SEWNUP' at Lyttleton Stores curated by Fiona Davies in 2020; 'BLUE' at Blue Mountains Cultural Centre curated by Beata Geyer in 2020; and BLUE TOO at WAYOUT curated by Beata Geyer in 2021.
I recently exhibited a number of works from a series I’ve been working on. I began by presenting Hand Piece #1, along with video documentation of the performance, in the Living Space exhibition for At The Vanishing Point, which I also curated. I later performed a work called Chisel Piece for the actingUP exhibition also … More Critical Tension
I have a work in a group show! Abstract/Object The opening is on Thursday, November 18 (from 6 – 9pm) at At The Vanishing Point. The address is 565 King St, Newtown. The show runs from 18 November – 5 December, I’d love for you to come along and check it out. “Abstract/Object is an … More Abstract/Object
I have a work in a group show! actingUP: Performance based and inspired art The opening is on Thursday, July 15 (from 6 – 9pm) at At The Vanishing Point. The address is 565 King St, Newtown. The show runs from 15 – 25 July, I’d love for you to come along and check it … More actingUP
My work In Exitu Israel de Aegypto was recently exhibited in Hidden: A Rookwood Sculpture Walk. It was accompanied by text and audio explaining the work. “In exitu Israel de Aegypto is an acknowledgement of death and its spiritual significance for the dying and those they leave behind. The work consists of several tonnes of … More Hidden Revealed
I have a work in a group show! Hidden: A Rookwood Sculpture Walk The show runs from the 18th March – 18th April at Rookwood Cemetery in Lidcombe. We’d love for you to come along and check it out. Now in its second year, Hidden: A Rookwood Sculpture Walk unveils the work of 24 artists’ … More Hidden
I’m curating a group show for At The Vanishing Point under their Emerging Curators Mentorship Program: Living Space The show runs from 12 – 28 March at ATVP. The address is 565 King St, Newtown. We’d love for you to come along and check it out. “Living Space explores the reciprocal relationship between the body … More Living Space
My work Circumcision (2008) was recently exhibited in the show ReImag(in)ing SomaSex and I was prompted to reconsider some of the ideas that had been in my head when I originally performed the work. The exhibition was mainly focused on ideas of body, gender and sexuality, so I have focused on this aspect of my … More ReImag(in)ing Circumcision
I have a work in a group show! ReImag(in)ing SomaSex The show runs from 18 – 26 November (from 10am – 5pm) at Macquarie University Art Gallery. The address is Building E11A, Macquarie University. We’d love for you to come along and check it out. “ReImag(in)ing SomaSex takes as its central concern the interplay between … More ReImag(in)ing SomaSex
I have a work in a group show! Hello The opening is on Saturday, September 26 (from 6 – 8pm) at ESP gallery. The address is 228 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville. The show runs from 27 September – 11 October, we’d love for you to come along and check it out.
For the 2008 Undergraduate Degree Show at Sydney College of the Arts I presented three works under the collective heading, Collected (2008). These works were linked by themes of meditation and maturation, struggle and spiritual growth. Quercus/Augustus is a meditation on the tree as a motif for ascension. This tree encompasses many ideas, like Beuys’ … More Collected
Tom Isaacs 