Decorum

Tara Denny

27 August - 19 September 2026

Monstering the Monstrous: The Collision of Class, Madness, Taste,

and the Queer Uncanny in Tara Denny’s Decorum 

James Hazel 

Decorum 

An artist is kept in hospital under mandatory confinement, handed mysterious slips of  paper stating, ‘Sorry we could not make your order.’ How should one behave in times like  these? Decorum, a new exhibition by Tara Denny, focuses on pulling the fragmented self  back together in the face of a breakdown. Found materials are threaded into cast resin,  plied with layers of spray paint and glue atop planks of wood to form wall-mounted  sculptures. The lustre of metallic surfaces, such as cutlery or makeup, evoke the  Leftovers of late nights with peculiar company. 

In her ambitious new work, Wishlist, the artist reckons with the formal echoes of a  foregone nation’s flag. From this rupture emerge clusters of Pittman shorthand glyphs,  translating words from Mina Loy’s Dada feminist manifesto. An indulgent romp ensues:  dancing shoes; Sydney rock oysters; Victorian Leadlight glass; heritage listed house  colours; Glomesh purse; and cast mantle pieces tied together with a delicate lattice of  wax. Together they resemble a grotesque opulence, hiding beneath the illusory Australian  dream.