Artist will explain 'The Four Horsemen of the 21st Century Apocalypse'



Penny Byrne's "The Four Horsemen of the
 21st Century Apocalypse" - she will
talk about them at the Shepparton
Art Museum in December.

Visual artist Penny Byrne will explain later this year what inspired her to create of “The Four Horsemen of the 21st Century Apocalypse”.

The Melbourne-based artist will discuss what it was that drove her to craft the four-piece sculpture with the University of Melbourne’s vice-chancellor’s fellow and the former Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability in Victoria, Professor Kate Auty

Ms Byrne and Pro Auty, in the presence of “the four horsemen”, will discuss the sculpture at the Shepparton Art Gallery (SAM) on Wednesday, December 17, at 6pm.

The event, which is free, was originated by Slap Tomorrow, and is being staged with the co-operation of the Friends of SAM.

Those planning to attend should RSVP to art museum at (03) 5832 9861 or by email at SAM. 

Promotional material for the sculpture says: “The Four Horsemen of the 21sr Century Apocalypse” alerts us to this century’s looming environment and political disasters: water shortage, peak oil, over population and the control of nature’s seed stock.



Penny Byrne at work on
 one of her horsemen.

“From the stainless steel pot scourer, ceramic bowls, to the eyeless doll head and plastic swords to a multitude of tiny people, seeds, glass and other embellishments, the reproduction Tang Dynasty horses symbolise the great challenges of this century and warn us that an inadequate response might result in an apocalypse that the Revelation did not really imagine”, it says.

The sculpture is a part of the SAM collection.