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In the mid-1960s, Warhol carried his consumer-product imagery into the realm of sculpture. Calling to mind a factory assembly line, Warhol employed carpenters to construct numerous plywood boxes identical in size and shape to supermarket cartons. With assistance from Gerard Malanga and Billy Linich, he painted and silkscreened the boxes with different consumer product logos: Kellogg’s corn flakes, Brillo soap pads, Mott’s apple juice, Del Monte peaches, and Heinz ketchup. The finished sculptures were virtually indistinguishable from their cardboard supermarket counterparts. Warhol first exhibited these at the Stable Gallery in 1964, cramming the space with stacked boxes that recalled a cramped grocery warehouse. He invited collectors to buy them by the stack, and, though they did not sell well, the boxes caused controversy. In reference to his boxes, Warhol later said that he “wanted something ordinary,” and it was this mundane, commercial subject matter that infuriated the critics. The perfectly blank “machine-made” look of Warhol’s boxes contrasted sharply with the gestural brushstrokes of abstract expressionist paintings. I wanted to try myself in sculpture, can you help me to find Australian analogs to Brillo Boxes?

A banana taped to the wall was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2024 for $6.2 million. Probably the most expensive fruit in history — the work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan titled The Comedian. The buyer was a Chinese collector and crypto-millionaire Justin Sun, who announced that he was planning to eat his piece of art very soon. And he did it.

What do you think about contemporary art?

1. Kangaroo – A national animal and a key emblem on the Australian coat of arms.

2. Emu – Another animal on the coat of arms, chosen because it can’t walk backwards, symbolising progress.

3. Australian Flag – Features the Union Jack, the Commonwealth Star, and the Southern Cross constellation.

4. Aboriginal Flag – Black, red, and yellow, representing Aboriginal people, the land, and the sun.

5. Southern Cross – A star constellation visible from the southern hemisphere, featured on the flag.

6. Boomerang – A traditional Aboriginal tool and symbol of Indigenous culture and resilience.

7. Vegemite – A beloved food spread and a pop culture icon of Australian everyday life.

8. Uluru (Ayers Rock) – A sacred site to Anangu people and a powerful symbol of Australia’s natural and spiritual landscape.

9. Wattle (Golden Wattle) – Australia’s national floral emblem, known for its bright yellow flowers.

10. The Sydney Opera House – An iconic piece of architecture and a symbol of modern Australia.