Shifting Gear: Design, Innovation and the Australian Car

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Harriet Edquist conceived of the idea for 'Shifting Gear' and the National Gallery of Victoria commissioned her to create and curate the exhibition that traces 100 years of Australian car design and innovation. The co-curator was the NGV's David Hurlston. The resulting show exhibits 23 cars ranging from a 1890s Thomson steam car to a 2011 FR-1 concept car coupe. It is the first time an Australian gallery has exhibited cars as works of art and its size and themes make it an international benchmark too. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York's car shows, AUTObodies (2012) and Eight Automobiles (1952) have been far more modest in scope. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: Australian car manufacturing is collapsing but Edquist's research - in RMIT's Design Archive and numerous private and industry collections - conceived of a new narrative of historic and ongoing excellence in industrial design and innovation. While 'Shifting Gear' showcases iconic Australian-made cars such as the Torana and the Valiant it also unearthed new histories of Australian design excellence in sports and racing cars, notably the Brabham BT19 racer and RB620 engine. As curator Edquist selected the themes, the cars and the text. Cars are displayed on plinths, like art objects. Edquist collaborated with designer Peter King to ensure the design revealed the research. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: 'Shifting gear' is on at one of Australia's premier public galleries, NGV Australia and it is accompanied by a 162-page catalogue which includes four research essays. A further measure of the significance is wide coverage in metro and regional media. Feature articles and reviews in The Age included, Andrew Stephens, 'NGV shifts gear' 20 Feb 2015; A Stephens, 'There's an art to this show', 21 Feb 2015; Ray Edgar, 'Exhibition sets out road map' 6 March 2015. Coverage in the Herald Sun included Simon Plant, 'Art gets a rev-up', 4 April 2015; and Kim Wilson, 'Looking great in a V8', 2 March 2015.