ERIC LÖBBECKE seeks to capture and interpret a breadth of personal and broader social experiences and ideas in his works. Delving into the theme of ‘missing’, or ‘what is missing’, the artist proposes an innovative and digitally savvy way for viewers to react and engage to his personal interpretation of this theme and offer up their own ideas and understandings of his work and the concept that drives it. In turn ERIC LÖBBECKE hopes to bring these ideas and engagements to fruition through an ongoing dialogue with the viewers. The works on display are the result of two years in a Master of Fine Art by Research at UNSW Art and Design.

For LÖBBECKE, the theme of ‘missing’ is twofold, driving both the methodology of his work and the meaning behind it. As such, the works in this exhibition are presented in two parts. First, the idea of what is missing is understood and reckoned with on a deep and personal level for the artist as he interprets the theme through the specificity of his own circumstances. The question is then offered more broadly to the viewers: what is missing? These two components of this body of work are ultimately interconnected and in active dialogue as LÖBBECKE strives to create an active experience and engagement through his work.

The second component of this exhibition is a growing collaborative artwork on the theme of ‘missing’. This work will be actively created throughout the exhibition and will rely on the ideas and stories accumulated from the viewers and gallery patrons. They are asked to contribute in a way that will inspire LÖBBECKE to conjure up a growing composition over the duration of the show. ERIC LÖBBECKE proposes a collaboration of this kind as a new experience for the viewer, being a participator in the outcome. The artist is preoccupied with a civil collective story that emerges from these compositions and the confluence of diverse ideas.
ERIC LÖBBECKE is a Sydney based artist, born in Vienna Austria 1966. His family migrated to Australia in 1973 with his French mother and German father. LÖBBECKE is a cartoonist and illustrator on the opinion page of the Australian newspaper since 1988. He has had three solo exhibitions at NG ART gallery Sydney and has shown twice in a dual artist exhibition in The Holland Park Icehouse, London. LÖBBECKE is currently researching an innovative and

engaging working model for artists in the new digital age, as part of his Master of Fine Art by Research at UNSW Art and Design.

If you would like to engage with the artist in the live creation of an artwork as part of this exhibition, you can visit Eric Löbbecke’s Art Co-Lab and help him grow a drawing with your suggestions for MISSING.