Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

Consulting the oracle

How we live now

With their poignant reflections on our post-pandemic world, artists are the oracles helping us navigate our 'new normal'.

For millions of us caught in the extended lockdowns of 2021, the images of faraway loved ones, overweight pets or a simple drawing of a footpath resonate in a way that would have seemed unimaginable in 2019.

The exhibition's first QR code cartoon sits alongside the Museum of Nice Things and a world on hold.

In space. The Earth is surrounded by a loading sign saying, 'Buffering... please wait'. Text reads: 'Somewhere amongst the limitless potential of the universe'.

Connection Error

Chris Downes, The Mercury (Hobart), 31 May 2021

A robot-looking guide takes robot-looking children on a tour of 'Nice things' at a museum. Nice things include a hot bath, a cat asleep in sunshine and clean sheets. The children are horrified.

Museum of Nice Things

First Dog on the Moon, The Guardian Australia, 14 May 2021

Classic children's books are reinterpreted to current world issues, for example 'The very hungry corporation'.

Books Explaining the News for Kids

Andrew Weldon, The Big Issue, 4 March 2021

An Indian woman waves bye to a plane. She is in an airport wearing a mask.

The Long Goodbye

Glen Le Lievre, Patreon, 29 April 2021

Three panels of a woman staring at a phone, it's 11.15am. First panel she says 'Ok, they're meeting at 11:45, so I might as well go do other stuff until there's actually some news.' She stays in the same spot in the next two panels.

Waiting for Presser

Elyce Phillips, Self-published, 12 February 2021

Multiple black and white panels. Man sleeping, dirty dishes and a footpath. Above is the skyline of a city.

Lockdown Mood 6

Judy Kuo, Self-published, 13 August 2021

List of global disasters and issues such as 'corruption, covid and carbon emissions'. Text tells the reader to 'Lower your expectations and celebrate all the things you've learned to live with'.

Lower Your Expectations

Cathy Wilcox, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 August 2021

A census form, but contains alternate questions that are lockdown related.

Census

Mark Knight, Herald Sun, 11 August 2021

A doctor looks at a syringe saying, 'Whoops! This is the "modernart" vaccine'. A man is on the doctor's bed. His face is replaced by 'modern art'.

Abstract Zeneca

Chris Downes, The Mercury (Hobart), 9 August 2021

A passport stamped with different rooms in a house.

The Lockdown Passport

Glen Le Lievre, The Australian Financial Review, 1 September 2021

A man holding books talks to a woman in a library. He says, 'We've moved a few things around. Travel books are in the Fantasy section, politics is in sci-fi, and epidemiology is in self-help. Good luck.'

New Categories

Megan Herbert, Self-published, 16 November 2021

A man sits in an armchair. A woman stands. A dog is on the floor. The man says, 'I'm moving my armchair expertise from epidemiology to nuclear powered naval submarines.'

Armchair Experts

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 2021

A man sits on a cube with a QR code, his ankle is chained to it. His head is in his hands. There are two more QR codes in the image.

Track Record

Simon Letch, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 2021

Four people throw their face masks in the air and leap out of a house into the front yard. COVID is depicted as things like bushes and clouds.

Free at Last

Glen Le Lievre, Patreon, 11 October 2021

Two bubbles. One is Bubble: 2020 and one is Bubble: 2021. In Bubble: 2020 a happy man holds up a puppy. In Bubble: 2021 the dog is huge and the man looks sad.

Bubble Wrap

Andrew Dyson, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 June 2021