Meth Kelly

Meth Kelly explores how Australias colonial frontier narrative has been shaped by the imaginary heroic actions of the cult figure Ned Kelly Through a video work projected in one of the shadowy tunnels of the exconvict structures at Cockatoo Island this work questions the legitimacy of Kellys hero status through a modern reinterpretation of his moral persona Thornton skews the national narrative rooted in the romance of a Western by transforming Kelly into a meth head robbing a 7 Eleven placing him in a banal suburban delinquent realm far removed from cult status Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney