Magical Putt Putt, Cement Fondu

Magical Putt Putt saw a collective of Studio A artists transform Cement Fondu’s main gallery into a spiritual mini-golf experience with performative activations. Inspired by Annette Galstaun’s passion for angels and putt putt, the exhibition aimed to connect people through participatory experiences themed around reverence, ritual and play.

Upon entering the gallery, audiences were invited to pick up a club and gently play their way through a series of hand-made mini golf sculptures, each featuring an icon or spirit of personal importance to Annette. Watching over the four courses was Annette herself, performing as one of her guardian angels.

"I made this artwork to make my Mum proud from heaven” says Annette. “I made these joyful things to honour people and angels who have cared for me throughout my life." - Annette Galstaun

Responding to the concept of reverence Meagan Pelham, Mathew Calandra and Victoria Atkinson chose to memorialise parents who have passed. Their portraits, painted on solid wood, were haloed with coloured light and glowed in the left hand alcove of the gallery.

"I wanted to paint this portrait of my mum to say goodbye”  explains Victoria. “I painted her as a rainbow because she is a rainbow now in a better place. As she is in my dreams & memories." 

In the expansive backspace of the gallery, Thom Roberts presented a four-walled, four-channeled animated installation that reimagined a courthouse as a tennis match, featuring  a ‘defendant champion’ and a jury of ‘courthouse cats’. Audiences were invited to undertake their own match, using a Thom Roberts tennis table, painted in bright red and yellow (the colours of Thom’s favourite fast food restaurant).

"Courtrooms are scary and tennis courts are fun. I am playing around with lawyers and police cops and security people by making them play tennis. I want everyone to play my tennis game please, while my animation cheers around you." - Thom Roberts

Upstairs, Katrina Brennan and Paula do Prado invited audiences into the world of their collaboration, which saw them create a suite of soft sculpture ‘unicorn dogs’. "Unicorn Dogs are something I created with Paula, who is another artist” says Katrina. “They are a normal dog with a unicorn horn and wings."

Through these works, Magical Putt Putt explored connections between metaphysical and material worlds, encouraging audiences to think more expansively about reverence.

Images by Jessica Maurer. Commissioned by Cement Fondu.