Mark Ogge's The Art of Spiegelworld Exhibition Opens Today

To coincide with the current Melbourne season of Empire by Spiegelworld on the Rooftop at Crown, a
never-before-seen art exhibition is being presented to celebrate The Art of Spiegelworld by Mark Ogge.

Since its debut in New York City in 2006, Spiegelworld has commissioned the Melbourne artist to create paintings inspired by each of the company's unique spiegeltent shows which have reinvented the traditions of circus and vaudeville for a 21st century audience. The first commission was to create a giant ceremonial entrance gate to Spiegelworld's first site at Pier 17 near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Ever since Degas and Renoir painted the performers at Cirque Fernando in 1879 Paris, and Toulouse-
Lautrec captured life at the Moulin Rouge, the world of circus and vaudeville has attracted painters who
have been captivated by this colourful and eccentric world. Picasso, Leger and Chagall were all infatuated
by circus imagery.

Mark Ogge is an accomplished painter known for his haunting, dreamlike paintings which evoke childhood
memories and often use fairground or circus imagery. Represented by Flinders Lane Gallery he has been
exhibited widely in Melbourne.

Mark said, "One thing that has kept drawing me back is fairground imagery. Whenever I saw a circus pull up
in town, or the Royal Melbourne Show, or Moomba, I was just really drawn to that as subject matter. There
was something visual about it that really appealed. It was the colours, the darkness, the lights, but there was
also something in the subject matter... it is full of psychological intensity, it's a fascinating microcosm of life.
You know, you've got all sorts of different people and it's kind of anonymous. I love it as subject matter. It's
so richly metaphoric and visually exciting."

Spiegelworld Impresario, Ross Mollison, said, "Since 2006 I have been asking Mark to create a new artwork to
celebrate the opening of each of our new Spiegelworld shows. The result is always a fascinating counterpoint
to the art we create on stage, and a lasting impression of the ephemeral nature of live performance. To us at
Spiegelworld, each artwork is resonant with deep meaning, but to the casual viewer they shine as gorgeous
stand-alone works of art. Knowing the story behind each piece just adds to the enjoyment."

"Ross is a fantastic patron to work with", adds Mark. "He has an amazing ability to generate ideas, which
have been really formative of the designs, but he is completely happy for me to have complete artistic
freedom with the work."

The feature of this retrospective exhibition is a large three-dimensional, mechanically operated diorama built
by Mark's team which brings his Spiegelworld paintings to life; a vintage proscenium arch stage filled with moving acrobats, aerial artists and other curiosities. The piece was commissioned by Ross Mollison to celebrate the January opening of the show Vegas Nocturne at the new Spiegelworld venue Rose.Rabbit.Lie at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The stunning work is reminiscent of Martin Engelbrecht's 18th century miniature paper theatres and Daguerre's popular diorama theatre in early 19th century Paris. It has been a huge technical challenge with more than 20 individual motors animating the characters.

In addition to his work with Spiegelworld over the years, Mark was commissioned to create the façade for David Bates' beautiful living artwork, the Edinburgh-based venue known as The Famous Spiegeltent, which until recently has been a regular fixture on the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt. The original painting study for that large work is also included in the current exhibition at Crown. Mark was also commissioned to create the magnificent mural "1001 Nights" for the Scenic Railway station at Melbourne's Luna Park. Ticket holders for any performance of Empire will have an opportunity to view the Art of Spiegelworld exhibition before or after the show.

Spiegelworld began creating its immersive live entertainment experiences in New York City in 2006. At the core of this seductive world was a unique venue - a century-old Belgian spiegeltent beautifully crafted from teak, stained glass, mirrors and luxurious velvet. The tiny circular stage at the center of the intimate spiegeltent informed the creation of all of Spiegelworld's ground-breaking live shows which reinvented circus, cabaret, vaudeville and burlesque for a 21st century adult crowd.

The exhibition at Crown Melbourne will be open to Empire ticket holders from 4 to 16 April 2014. Access via Level 3 (escalators opposite Village Cinemas). Empire is now playing in Melbourne until 11 May. For more information visit www.empireaustralia.com.