Jon Campbell—yEAH / dUNNO

With his use of words and phrases as imagery, Jon Campbell captures aspects of popular culture that are both lived and observed, that are local, national and international and that can be spoken, written, sung and read. Campbell works across paintings, drawings, neon lighting, tea towels, flags and songs to demonstrate his love of suburbia and its vernacular. His works define not only the look of the world in which he lives, but the accent and humour of its language.

Campbell’s exhibition yEAH / dUNNO includes site-specific installations activating the Gallery’s entry on Little Malop Street (YEAH), rear facade overlooking Johnstone Park (DUNNO), and foyer (IT IS WHAT IT IS), as well as a selection of works spanning four decades displayed within the galleries. yEAH / dUNNO affirms that art is everywhere around us: in the words we use or overhear, on the shop signs we see in our neighbourhoods, and on the civic buildings we regularly pass by.

From the positivity of YEAH to the uncertainty of DUNNO, the exhibition focuses on the complex and specific qualities of contemporary Australian language and Campbell’s connection to the west of Melbourne and our region. With humour and optimism, he eschews strident nationalism in favour of an inclusive celebration of the small, the overlooked and the everyday.