… Is somebody gonna match my freak?

Exhibition Review: Visual Art | Brian Rope

… Is somebody gonna match my freak? I Sophie Dumaresq & Asil Habara

M16Artspace, Gallery 1 | 24 January – 16 February 2025

…Is somebody gonna match my freak? is an exhibition by two multidisciplinary artists Asil Habara and Sophie Dumaresq. They were the 2024 recipients of the M16 Artspace ANU Emerging Artists Support Scheme residencies.

The exhibition’s title is taken from the lyrics of Nasty - a 2024 pop song by an American singer and songwriter Tinashe which went viral. “Match my freak” means finding someone who matches your weirdness and enjoys the same niche interests as you. Are we all a bit freaky? Is it a good feeling to find someone whose energy precisely matches yours? That was the philosophy behind this surging new bit of internet culture slang that also became a Trending TikTok sound.

The show is a tongue-in-check reference to the two artists shared sense of humour and interest in online popular culture, shit posting and the very real-life currents behind driving viral trends. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, shitposts on social media are of little to no sincere insightful substance. They may well be posted, as their sole purpose, to confuse, provoke or entertain. They are not specifically designed to evoke reactions.

Addressing topics ranging from the religious, to a popular reality dating television show “Love Island” and online consumer influencer culture, Asil Habara invites audiences to reflect on the profound intersections of culture and technology. This artist’s works in this exhibition are visually arresting and have amazing titles. Some are digital prints on satin cloth or on poly fil. Others are screenprints on paper or linen. The vibrancy of their colours is astoundingly powerful. Visitors may well find themselves simply feeling immersed in them. The artist is seeking to engage, to question and to be part of a larger dialogue shaping the cultural landscape. There are also some other types of works – found heels covered with colourful “saucy” images on collaged paper, and a found hat similarly improved via decoration.

bom cha cha cha cha, 2024. Digital print on satin cloth – Asil Habara
a new bombshell has entered the villa, 2024. Digital print on satin cloth – Asil Habara

Community is being in the third space with five hinge matches, at least two people who have seen your hole, ex housemates that went horrible, ex housemates that went well, a subleter who u rejected, friends with mutual distancing, three people that are currently in your dms, a secret crush or two, people who pretend not to know you from Instagram, randomly someone you went to primary school with, a guy with allegations but people for some reason are still friends with him, a string of lesbians who have all seen each other, a string of gays who have all seen each other, everyone being a dj while being all burnt out and everyone talking about moving to melbourne, sydney or berlin, 2025.Satin cloth, wood – Asil Habara

Crucifixion, 2025. Recycled timber, paper.
Asil Habara and Conor Ward

u know my swag not my story (i), (ii) & (iii), 2025
Screenprints on linen – Asil Habara

Valley girls giving blowjobs for Louboutins What you call that? Head over heels, 2025.
Found heels, collaged paper - Asil Habara

Sophie Dumaresq’s artworks feature her trademark pinks. As we have come to expect, she has used hand dyed and felted human hair. Other different elements in the artworks include rabbit and red fox skulls. The catalogue also reveals her use of plywood, a car hood, oil paint, hair spray, invisible blood and spit and UV reactive ink. She has provided UV torches to point at photos enabling us to see the otherwise invisible additions to their surfaces.

The titles of Dumaresq’s works are equally fascinating – “Like that one sex scene in Mulholland Drive” and “Manic Pixie Dream Rabbit Feet #1” are just two examples. Interestingly, in a new review of Mulholland Drive following the death of Director David Lynch, the reviewer Steve Palaski wrote “isn’t the kind of film that can be adequately explained, but I’ll give it a whirl.” If particular titles don’t move you and evoke feelings of familiarity within you, search for them on the Web and you should quickly identify clues as to why Dumaresq has used them. If you find yourself having trouble explaining to yourself, or to your friends, what this exhibition is all about, don’t be afraid, do the hard yards and give it a whirl. You’ll soon be showing your friends how vast your computer knowledge is!

Sophie Dumaresq - At it like f$$$ingrabbits (come find me hunny bunny), 2024.

Sophie Dumaresq - You can be my full time, baby, hot or cold, 2024.

Sophie Dumaresq, Like that one sex scene in Mulholland drive, 2024.

Together these two artists invite us to question the currents that shape our own material reality and cultural landscape, both online and IRL - come on, you must know it means In Real Life and is used to differentiate between online and offline worlds!

This review is also available on the author's blog here.