Initiation OA_RR (2021)

A 1973 Holden Monaro coupe revs its engine, tires squeal and the smoke from burning rubber billows through Melbourne's western suburbs. But the car's decked out in hot metallic pink and there's opera on the stereo. This is Initiation OA_RR, a new video work by celebrated visual artist Reko Rennie. In this new RISING commission-the follow-up to his 2016 work OA_RR-Rennie cruises the working-class landscapes of his youth in Melbourne's west. At an open tarmac, he puts the customised Monaro through a series of burnouts, referencing 'Westie' drag-racing culture, First Peoples initiation practices in an urban context and the traditional sand engraving motifs of the Kamilaroi/Gamilaroi people.