Full Throttle

Few symbols define the modern era as powerfully--or persistently--as the automobile. Full Throttle, fueled by the legacy of the film Mad Max, presents the car as a lens through which to examine contemporary life. The publication examines how artists across mediums and generations have used the automobile as both subject and metaphor to explore ideas around power, identity, consumption, and connection.

Richly reproduced plates within a luxe and striking design, inspired by the collision of visual art and car culture, illuminate the breadth and ambition of key works by artists including Judy Chicago, Sarah Lucas, Kaylene Whiskey, Trent Parke, Ichwan Noor, Tjanpi Desert Weavers, and Tracey Moffatt from the landmark eponymous exhibition.

Anchored by an introduction from the exhibition curator Nick Mitzevich and featuring an in-depth conversation with Mad Max director George Miller, the publication brings together a suite of essays that unpack the exhibition's major thematic arcs. From postapocalyptic myth to suburban realism, the car is shown as a connector and divider, savior, destroyer, and muse. This publication does not glorify the automobile--it interrogates it.

Full Throttle uses the car as a cultural side mirror--reflecting the structures, desires, and dilemmas that shape contemporary life. It positions the car not simply as an object but as a powerful symbol through which to understand and critique Australia's past, present, and imagined futures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0642335222
• ISBN13: 9780642335227
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: National Gallery of Australia
• Length: 256 Pages
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher