Mystery trio has Mackay thinking

Mackay's latest interactive exhibition entitled 'Three Well-Known Australians', by Sydney artist Martin Shaw, will have viewers considering how art can be interpreted differently and what gives someone notoriety.

In his work, artist Martin Shaw presents three non-descript characters. They have no features, could be male or female, young or old.

Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson said the exhibition posed a mystery for us to solve using our own existing knowledge, lived experience and imagination.

“At a time when we’ve been considering and contemplating who we revere for Australia Day accolades, this exhibition asks, ‘what makes someone important?’,” Mayor Williamson said.

“The artwork helps us see that we all interpret art differently. The only parameters we’ve been given are that they are well-known Australians.

“But what does this mean to you? Is this someone you admire and respect on a local level, or maybe you’re thinking of someone who’s well-known on the national stage,” he said.

Join other Australians, like Cathy Freeman and Scott Morrison, who have written their opinions of the identity of the three characters in the form of letters or notes which are displayed alongside the artwork.

Created in 1982, this project has for decades been asking ‘who are these people?’ It particularly highlights that who was well-known and revered in the 1990s will be different to what people think today and in the future.

The timeless exhibition is now on show at the Jubilee Community Centre Exhibition Space until Friday, February 19, 2021.