This selection of impressive International and West Australian art from the Stokes Collection reflects the curatorial work of the late John Stringer. It showcases many works which have not been publicly shown in Australia before and features work by well known international artists such as Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley and Gilbert and George, and West Australian artists including Miriam Stannage, Howard Taylor, Cecile Williams, Matthew Hunt and Philip Gamblen.

PEEP is intended to draw a wide audience, to see works by internationally renowned artists, as well as educate viewers about the good things happening in art locally. It is a great example of the purpose of a State Gallery, to display international art to locals and local art to international guests. The works in the exhibition seem to be linked with by certain theme, optical illusion and perception. Other connections between the exhibits include colour, light and motion, and repetition.

Examples of Op Art are displayed in the works of Bridget Riley and Alfred Jensen that play with colour and geometric patterns to create optical illusions that challenge the eye. Also of the 1960s era, Pop Art is represented in the exhibition with the work Electric Chair Suite by Andy Warhol, comprising 10 screen printed images of Old Sparky, an electric chair which was a recurrent image used throughout Warhol’s career. In this depiction, colour and repetition of the vacant chair is used to conjure up thoughts of death and question capital punishment, a moral issue which was hugely present at the time the work was created.

When you enter the exhibition, you are confronted by a 2x3x2m constructed cardboard box by West Australian artist Cecile Williams, entitled Peep, after which the exhibition is named. As you come closer to the work you notice two little holes to ‘peep’ through which to view a handmade diorama created with cardboard cut-outs and lit with halogen lights. More peepholes are placed on the box, each individually named and classified through letters A-O. Each peephole shows a different scene, depicting fruit and other everyday objects. Peep is a brilliant example of contemporary art. It's a big, bold installation that encourages audience interaction of all ages as there are peepholes at different heights, so even the littlest people can enjoy. I consider this the best piece in the exhibition and a benchmark for all artists to aspire to. The medium of cardboard invokes the theme of recycling in the wasteful world of today, which takes too much for granted without considering the consequences. The precious hand-made aspect of the individual dioramas reflects on the lack of uniqueness and originality in a global market flooded with mass-produced, throw-away objects instead of handcrafted, long lasting products of the past.

Other interesting works in the show are found in a darkened room in the centre of the gallery space which contains four individual light based installations. Here, another West Australian artist, James Angus, uses letters in a grid like formation in his 1994 piece An Astronomical Proposition. A 9x3m black wall is ruled up in a grid, lettered A-T with coloured plastic objects tacked to the wall and lit up by optic fibres. The title suggests the lights on the black wall represent stars in the night sky. The plastic objects could be depicting debris in space invoking the question of where excess waste goes. The work is a documentation of Angus’ fascination with scale, volume and form, which is mathematically drawn up in a grid, putting the objects, which seem to be dispersed in a scattered formation, into a controlled environment.

Also within the central darkened room of the gallery is Tim Lewis’ Because we are small, a 15x30cm box hung on the wall with what looks like a number of men walking under strobe lighting. Whether they are actually whole men walking or an optical illusion, I'm not quite sure. Probably the latter, which asks you to question how? Ironically, you can see the mechanisms running underneath as if the artist is teasing the viewer by showing how it works, or not, at the same time. Like other works in this show and in art in general, the question 'How?' suggests that the techniques of good craftsmanship is still a factor in the art world today.

My overall reaction to the show is positive, with the contrast between the contemporary and earlier works striking. This emphasizes the portrayal of art as a constant, ever changing process, always striving for difference. This makes looking forward to the future evolution of art thrilling.