The Sculpture: Liquid Kelly

About the Sculpture

'Liquid Kelly' is a fibreglass 1:1 scale redesign of the iconic armour of bushranger Ned Kelly. It was designed to provide a beacon of acknowledgement of groups who have been outlawed, murdered and discriminated against over hundreds of years. Their causes remain and spirit and intent cannot be killed. 'Liquid Kelly' is a semi-permanent installation at POME and was one of the first pieces to come into the gallery. Bernie Clifford is the artist behind the concept of the artwork, alongside artisan Elizabeth Surtees who brought the idea to life.

About the Artists

Bernie Clifford is a film producer and sees works as a photographer and as an artist/producer in design works and concepts. His honours year film 'A Fistful of Heart' won international awards at the Long Island International Film Expo and at the New York Independent Film & Video Festival in the USA. Bernie is also the artistic director and proprietor at POME – a revolutionary launching pad for all art forms and the home of Liquid Kelly. Bernie is a devoted facilitator of the arts and music industry and seeks to champion underrepresented masters of their craft.

Elizabeth Surtees is a Melbourne based makeup artist by trade who has naturally progressed into installation and exploratory concepts of art. Internationally, Elizabeth has worked with New Zealand's Next Top Model winner Danielle Hayes, has featured in Nexus Magazine and the front page of Whakatane News. During her time in the US, Elizabeth was the Head of Makeup for New York Fashion Week in 2016. Her work is real, emotional, passionate and with layers of rherotic in each intrinsic detail. Elizabeth is currently working on her next body of work engaging political themes.

'Liquid Kelly 2.0'

If you've ever lingered around the POME courtyard, you would have seen 'Liquid Kelly 2.0' pasted up on the rear wall. 'Liquid Kelly 2.0' is a commissioned work by Bernie Clifford and painted by Melbourne artist Ashley McNeil. The painting was conceptualised by both Bernie and Ashley to bring together the two major artworks installed at POME: 'Liquid Kelly' by Elizabeth Surtees and Libby Kerr’s Indigenous Flora Panels. This piece is loosely inspired by scientific illustrations and brings together dissected elements of both works. This piece contains, in Bernie’s words, his description of what 'Liquid Kelly' means to him.

Ashley McNeil is a visual artist based in Naarm (Melbourne). Ashley works in a wide range of mediums for both personal and commercial projects including large and small scale projects for festivals, theatre and film/ television productions. Ashley has taken part in and curated both solo and group exhibitions in galleries across Melbourne and Canada.

The 'Liquid Kelly' sculpture itself is unfortunately not for sale, but you can purchase A0 prints of 'Liquid Kelly 2.0' from the POME Art Store.

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Palace of Magnificent Experiences

Palace of Magnificent Experiences
(POME) is a multi-arts exhibition and
retail space with bar services

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