Sidney McMahon is an interdisciplinary artist working across sculptural installation, video and performance, with an interest in the body, memory and feeling.
McMahon’s work brings together distinct cultural contexts, as well as social and economic systems to explore a personal queer narrative.
Maggot uses brain sensing wearable technology to read the users visual cortex and translate neural activity into real-time digital commands. Presented as a narrated ‘choose your own adventure’ three channel video, Maggot examines the act of looking, being looked at and being seen, and the relationship between our visual reality and our cognitive understanding.
About the artist
Sidney McMahon is an interdisciplinary artist working across sculptural installation, video and performance, with an interest in architecture, the body, memory and feeling. McMahon’s work brings together distinct cultural contexts, as well as social and economic systems to explore a personal queer narrative. They completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Southern Queensland in 2009, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) at Sydney College of the Arts (USYD) in 2010, a Master of Art Curatorship at USYD in 2011 and a Master of Fine Arts at Sydney College of the Arts at USYD in 2015.
McMahon was an artist in residence at Parramatta Artists’ Studios from 2016 – 2018, and was awarded the 2017 Parramatta City Council Visual Arts Fellowship. In 2017 they completed a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, and Studio Voltaire, London. In 2018 they completed residencies at Wysing Arts Centre, UK, and a travelling residency between Kyoto and Tokyo organised by Move Arts Japan in collaboration with Asialink Arts. They have shown nationally and internationally in solo, group and curatorial projects in various galleries including, The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (VIC), MOP Projects (NSW), Clearview Ltd (LDN), Open Source Gallery (NY), Auto Italia (LDN), Metro Arts (QLD), and Verge Gallery (NSW).
Exhibition catalogue
Maggot is extended by a publication with production images, an introduction by Sidney McMahon and an essay by Amelia Wallin.
Design by Daryl Prondoso.
Gallery directions
Level 4, Peter Johnson Building (Building 6)
702 Harris St, Ultimo,
University of Technology, Sydney
Maggot was developed with support from UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Dr YK Wang and the UTS Tech Lab as part of the 2021 UTS Artist in Residence Program.
PRESS FOR maggot
Memo Review, Nick Croggon, 11 June 2022
McMahon’s words hone in on the feeling of infatuation, of self and other crashing together in a euphoric mingling of warm bodies, fluids and breath.
