Ambush of the Absurd: Profile of Liam O’Brien

In A Life Worth Living, a biography on the 20th century writer-philosopher Albert Camus, Robert Zaretsky argues that the inquiry into the nature of the absurd is fundamental to the human condition: “If the question abides, it is because it is more than a matter of historical or biographical interest. Our pursuit of meaning, and the consequences should we come up empty-handed, are matters of eternal immediacy.” Taking up these matters has been the interest and focus of Australian-born artist Liam O’Brien. Much like Camus, whose 1942 essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” delved into the absurdity of action and existence, O’Brien’s video works rely on mythologies—narratives of the origins of meaning—that he develops around absurd characters. Man personified by rubber blow-up sex dolls, amalgamations of home goods, or disembodied hands become the players in his stories, which vacillate between the comic and the tragic. Rooted in these images is a panoply of philosophical tropes and references, including nihilism, sadomasochism, and existentialism.

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