ART
Current Exhibitions
Looking Back There Were Signs
Solo Exhibition by Samuel Leighton-Dore
Tweed Regional Gallery | 8 March 2024 - 26 May 2024
Looking Back There Were Signs is a multidisciplinary exhibition exploring visual artist and screenwriter Samuel Leighton-Dore’s adult diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the ways in which new diagnoses can recontextualise old ideas of self.
The artworks form a self-portrait that serves both as a eulogy and introduction; thrumming the tension not only between contrasting mediums like ceramics and animation, but between who one is and how one edits, constructs and presents oneself in order to move through the world.
A Tweed Regional Gallery initiative. An outcome of the PLATFORM program. This project is assisted by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.
Cloud Drive
Interactive Installation Artwork by Samuel Leighton-Dore
HOTA | 3 Jun 2023 - 19 May 2024
Cloud Drive is an interactive ceramic-based artwork reflecting on tensions between the public and the personal. Featuring hundreds of hand sculpted ceramic clouds mounted at different levels, the immersive, large-scale work uses simple augmented reality (AR) technology to store different ‘status updates’ submitted by members of the public.
These status updates then reveal themselves when each cloud is viewed through the Cloud Drive app. Once just a Facebook status or a tweet you’d scroll past over your morning coffee, Cloud Drive makes the public personal, with visitors experiencing intimate one-on-one moments with total strangers.
The work was exhibited as part of Solid Gold (2021), the opening exhibition at Home of the Arts (HOTA). In 2022 the work was acquired into the Gold Coast City Collection permanent collection. It is currently on display through to mid 2024 as part of the HOTA Collects: Material World exhibition.
“As well as being a crowd favourite Cloud Drive is closely aligned with HOTA’s vision. It’s ambitious, bold, contemporary, and born from the Gold Coast. The interactive nature of this art means it will continue to engage audiences, now and into the future; and that’s something we’re really excited about. This is a significant acquisition for the Gold Coast…”
Criena Gehrke, former CEO HOTA, Home of the Arts
Previous Exhibitions
Smile Tiles: Wow It’s All A Lot
Solo Exhibition by Samuel Leighton-Dore
Wedge Gallery | 27th July 2023 – 14th August 2023
A collection of 91 pieces from Samuel’s ongoing Smile Tile project to celebrate the launch of his book of ceramics, Wow It’s All A Lot.
When Samuel Leighton-Dore began rolling out clay tiles and engraving words into them, he had just been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. After years spent in therapy waiting rooms, searching for meaning, encouragement and guidance, he turned to art to better understand who he was and why he was, slowing down to rediscover the joy and humour in the everyday.
Samuel’s artwork and writing celebrate all the messy bits of trying to navigate our busy lives. Life, like the tiles themselves, can be hard and fragile, so it’s okay to be a ‘work in progress’ and not have everything figured out all the time. His writing is relatable and comforting, like the world’s biggest hug from a friend. It’s also funny, sad, hopeful, inspirational and ultimately drawn from his own experiences with mental health and human connection.
Crying In The Leagues Club
Solo Exhibition by Samuel Leighton-Dore
aMBUSH GALLERY | 2019
In just his second solo exhibition, Samuel Leighton-Dore and aMBUSH Gallery present Crying In The Leagues Club, a thought-provoking collection of multidisciplinary works that aims to articulate the multi-dimensional and layered role the NRL plays in today’s society, with its unique blend of a traditional masculine power structure and emotional openness.
It’s a compelling artistic interrogation that questions why men within the world of professional sports are afforded freedom to cry, hug, take pride in each other’s achievements and express admiration for their physical prowess, when outside these arenas the same actions are looked upon as unusual, uncomfortable and unacceptable.
Ultimately positive in its considerations, Crying In The Leagues Club evokes a poignant sense of this colourful, fragile, complex world through over 30 diverse pieces of art, including acrylic paintings, ceramics, animation, sound design and LED neon.
Fragile Masculinity: Handle With Care
Solo Exhibition by Samuel Leighton-Dore
m2 GALLERY | 2019
“I’m interested in the relationship between men and their sadness — how, conditioned by a society and media that reveres physical and emotional strength, it’s too often neglected and instead, expressed through anger.
Inspired by the stoicism of public statues and the pseudoscience of phrenology, my work explores the idea that a man’s pursuit of strength results in a fragile sense of self; that, paradoxically, it’s our embracing of vulnerability that truly makes us strong. Empowered by their delicate forms, my work interrogates and celebrates this vulnerability.”
Publications
Wow It’s All A Lot (2023)
A heartfelt celebration of not quite having life figured out. This is a book for anyone going through a tough time. It's about celebrating the middle bits - the messy, awkward, uncomfortable bits - while navigating our way through the uncertainties of life.
When Samuel Leighton-Dore began rolling out clay tiles and engraving words into them, he had just been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. After years spent in therapy waiting rooms, searching for meaning, encouragement and guidance, he turned to art to better understand who he was and why he was, slowing down to rediscover the joy and humour in the everyday.
Samuel's artwork and writing celebrate all the messy bits of trying to navigate our busy lives. Life, like the tiles themselves, can be hard and fragile, so it's okay to be a 'work in progress' and not have everything figured out all the time. His writing is relatable and comforting, like the world's biggest hug from a friend. It's also funny, sad, hopeful, inspirational and ultimately drawn from his own experiences with mental health and human connection.
With a foreword from psychologist Chris Cheers.
How To Be A Big Strong Man (2019)
“Samuel Leighton-Dore knows that masculinity is a myth. A big, dumb, silly, poorly constructed myth! This picture book pokes light-hearted fun at the very notion of manhood, by offering an updated guide to masculinity. Thus: How to Be A Big, Strong Man.
Just a few short years ago, anyone using the term “toxic masculinity” would likely have received blank stares in return. But now, at this critical juncture, many in Australia are thinking and talking about how ideas of manhood (as prescribed from birth) affects the way all men think and act. How to Be A Big, Strong Man explores all these weighty ideas through fun, cheeky and satirical cartoons.
Through 150 tongue-in-cheek illustrations by multimedia artist Samuel Leighton-Dore, this book explores the many identities of a modern man. Manly man gets a pedicure, and manly man calls his Grandmother for a nice long chat. Above all, a manly man can cry whenever he bloody well pleases.”
Collaborations & Commissions
Reach Out
Sad Man Studio has an ongoing working relationship with mental health organisation ReachOut Australia, writing articles (e.g. 5 ways to give compliments that aren't about a person's looks) and creating accompanying illustrations which are used across the organisation’s website and social media platforms.
W Hotels
As a major partner of Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, W Hotels partnered with leading LGBTQIA+ artists Samuel Leighton-Dore and Keiynan Lonsdale to shine a light on the importance of inclusivity and self-expression, via their creative global W Hotels platform.
The ‘Creative Conversations’: Celebrating Diversity in Creativity, panel will be held in W Sydney’s stylish studio with stunning views overlooking Darling Harbour. The event will be an intimate gathering with the aim of fostering community connections, before Samuel Leighton Dore and Keiynan Lonsdale delve into discussions about art and creativity, with ticket sale proceeds going to Minus18.
