During Sydney’s Art Month‚ Firstdraft Gallery presents a strong group of exhibitions by emerging artists working across diverse media. With the support of Parramatta Artists Studios, Gallery 4 hosts a nightmarish alternate reality configured from Heath Franco’s imagination, entitled FUNHOUSE.
 

In 2003 Franco was drawing and painting portraits at the College of Fine Arts, “what I thought art was back then” he says. FUNHOUSE presents three years worth of artistic experimentation and evolution; the result being an explosion of insight, exuberance and confrontation.
 

The video installation lures the viewer into another world, a fantastical realm run by raucous characters (all played by Heath) including a ringmaster, a canary and a child; personifying the instalment’s inspiration being the collision between desire and frustration.
 

The visual unites with the audio somewhat violently, creating a cacophony of repeated sounds, neurotic events and encounters.
 

FUNHOUSE is a bit of fun, stretching our perception of what ‘art’ is, and how we can use it to project our visions, inspirations and passions. It shows how far an artist has come from his paintings and how far we have come in being able to be exposed to such imagination and open-mindedness.