BEST known for his confrontational photos and installations featuring dead kangaroos and real land mines, Australian artist Tim Burns was at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre on Friday night to open his new exhibition.
"This is really a document of my work over the last 40 years," he said.
"A lot of that has been lost and Sydney [Museum of Contemporary Art] has most of the originals for archiving, so this is a facsimile, these are all copies.
"The last time I was here I did a performance piece about mobile phones, that was in the 1990's so it's been a while."
Against The Grain, a collection of photos and film and TV clips, documents the artist's work over the years and explores themes of surveillance and terrorism.
Adelaide-born Mr Burns has received many awards over his 40-year career, including the prestigious Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize in 2008.
He has exhibited work in the New York Museum of Modern Art, the ICA London and Boston, the National Gallery of Australia and Artbank among other venues.
MPAC art curator Gary Aitken said he was pleased to welcome the controversial artist to the Mandurah centre.
"Tim exhibits a lot in New York and over east," Mr Aitken said.
"This exhibition is more of a survey of his work. He's interested in a lot of different issues and this is a very different type of show for us.
"When people think of art they often think of paintings; Tim likes to experiment, he likes to shock.
"It's really exciting to have him here."
Mr Aitken said the exhibition, which attracted a crowd of around 70 spectators, was a first for the centre and one of only two venues in WA hosting the display.
Tim Burns' Against The Grain will be on show at the MPAC from now until January 11.
