The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire PREVIEW - 2009 Deus Ex Machina ‘Drover’s Dog’

With Deus Ex Machina being such a major part of the new millennium custom motorcycle scene (and as much of a lifestyle brand as they are a custom motorcycle brand) it was a natural decision to include an example of one of their creations in The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire, an exhibition that showcases and celebrates the motorcycle as a design object.
 

The problem was which bike to choose for the exhibition, which opens at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) this month. As Deus’s output has been so prolific, narrowing the options down to just one was difficult.

Ultimately, the curators were attracted to the sense of escape and the very “Australian” lifestyle represented by the ‘Drover’s Dog’ with its custom surfboard carrier.

Based on a Yamaha SR500, the Drover’s Dog was built by Deus’s Jeremy Tagand back in 2009, but the bike and its matching surfboard (created by Paul McNeil) became separated some time afterward, leading to a replacement board being commissioned. It will be reunited with the bike for the exhibition.

The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire opens on 28 November, 2020 and runs to 26 April, 2021. To purchase tickets, go to: qagoma.qtix.com.au

For more information, exhibition updates and details on GOMA’s COVID-SAFE plan, go to: qagoma.qld.gov.au

Source: Joseph Mildren / Deus Ex Machina, Sydney

Photo: Deus Ex Machina