LA SALLE DE TAUREAUX, meaning ‘The Hall of Bulls’, draws its title from the opening passageway of the paleolithic rock art complex at Lascaux, a hallway-like cave decorated with bulls and other animals. The UNESCO world heritage site formed a central part of the research of Mikala Dwyer and Paul Yore during their residency at Stonehouse in Chenaud, Dordogne, France in 2023. LA SALLE DE TAUREAUX enmeshes the overlapping interests of the two artists, who have both established richly experimental practices that draw deeply from the idea of queerness, mysticism, ritual and the transmutability of diverse materialities. Bringing together a suite of Dwyer’s sculptural work in clay and mixed media, and a sound work by Yore, this exhibition also features a collaborative wall painting, drawing diversely from the tradition of Socialist murals, Picasso’s Guernica, street art, and abstract and hybrid motifs from the cave painting at Lascaux itself, such as the quizzical half bird, half man figure. This ensemble of forms in clay, sound and paint issues from the idea of the cave as a site of refuge, shamanic ecstasy and metamorphosis, and by extension, posits art as a radical and transformative space for encountering the unknown, and for a collective healing of sorts. Founded and generously supported by Gertrude Patrons Michael Schwarz & David Clouston and Antje & Andrew Géczy in 2017, the Stonehouse Glasshouse partnership is an invitational annual opportunity for two artists from Australia and New Zealand to undertake a 6-week residency in Chenaud, France, and thereafter present an exhibition at Gertrude Glasshouse, followed by the production of a publication on their work and practices. Mikala Dwyer participated in the Gertrude Studio Program from 2019-2022. Paul Yore participated in the Gertrude Studio Program from 2011-2013. Mikala Dwyer is represented by 1301SW, Naarm Melbourne; and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Eora Sydney. Paul Yore is represented by STATION, Naarm Melbourne and Eora Sydney; and Hugo Michell Gallery, Tarndanya Adelaide. Mikala Dwyer & Paul Yore, LA SALLE DE TAUREAUX (production still), 2023. Courtesy of the artists.