Objects & Absurdities: Cliché Life Begins

Cliché Life, where humour meets art history

Cliché Life is Raymond Mather’s witty reimagining of the still life tradition. For centuries, still life has arranged objects as symbols of culture, wealth, or mortality. In this contemporary twist, brightly coloured gummy figures take centre stage - animated into small absurdities that echo familiar idioms, sayings, and the humour of modern life.

Instead of vanitas and solemn symbolism, these sticky little characters confront everyday clichés with satire and charm. Each scene freezes a moment mid-punchline, reminding us how much of daily life is wonderfully predictable.

‘Life’s a Beach’ framed and installed. Archival pigment print on museum-grade cotton rag.

My photography constructs tiny worlds, staged like theatre, lit like cinema, and viewed through a macro lens that shifts our perception of scale and meaning. When objects behave like people, clichés are exposed as the universal code we all speak without thinking.

With more than two hundred props scattered across my studio, Cliché Life keeps growing, a playful obsession turning everyday clichés into new visual worlds.

 

Exhibition milestone:
Test Tube Babies, selected for Still Salon 2017, part of the National Still Life Award program at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.

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