Anyone who titles their exhibition after a Pet Shop Boys song is clearly onto something. Lincoln Austin’s I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing is the artist’s solo exhibition supported by Flying Arts Alliance (FAA) as the 2023 Queensland Regional Art Awards (QRAA) ‘Art For Life’ winner. The exhibition, which is currently being shown at Brisbane’s Judith Wright Centre, emphasises joy and communion between the artist and the audience.
‘I decided to use the 1993 favourite Pet Shop Boys dance floor hit of the same name as the impetus for this exhibition,’ says Austin. ‘I was 19 when this gem was released and, yes, as the lyrics suggest, “if people say I’m crazy, I tell ‘em that it’s true”.’ The words point to a deeper meaning for Austin and the exhibition. The song challenges the idea of a perceived “normal”, just as Austin’s work constantly plays with perception.
