18 July 2017

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) will host Resolution: new Indigenous photomedia from 26 August to 29 October 2017. This travelling exhibition, produced by the National Gallery of Australia, celebrates some of the most significant work made by Indigenous photographers, video and multimedia artists in the last five years.

Resolution brings together established and critically acclaimed artists with exciting emerging talent reflecting the diversity and dynamism of contemporary practice.

Director of the National Gallery of Australia, Gerard Vaughan, said that “Over the last 30 years, the NGA has developed one of the truly great collections of Indigenous photomedia. Resolution reflects our continuing engagement with this vital aspect of contemporary practice.”

Dr Rebecca Coates, Director of the Shepparton Art Museum says “SAM is delighted to present this timely exhibition from the National Gallery of Australia’s Collection. The exhibition presents work by leading contemporary Australian Aboriginal artists who examine ideas around Aboriginal identity, history and culture. These conversations are more pertinent than ever today, at a time when Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians reflect on our past and present, working together towards a shared future. Resolution speaks to all of us, of all ages and backgrounds.”

Yorta Yorta woman, Belinda Briggs (Community Engagement – Indigenous, SAM) says “Resolution is a great opportunity to engage with a national conversation that can also be seen through a local lens. Co-curated by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art and Photography departments of the National Gallery of Australia and drawing on the NGA’s contemporary collections, this exciting exhibition creates space to inquire, discuss, reaffirm, challenge and promote further understandings of history, the present, and the future. The exhibition’s importance lies in the fact that it brings the stories of Australia’s First Peoples to the fore.”

The foundations of contemporary Indigenous photography were laid in the late ‘80s, with a generation of politicised and often provocative artists documenting their experiences of the Bicentennial marking 200 years of European settlement. The last 30 years has seen the emergence of artists who engage critically and thoughtfully with the present and the past, layering their artistic identity with challenges to contemporary culture.

Resolution has travelled to three other Australian venues over the last 10 months, as part of the National Gallery of Australia’s extensive program, sharing the national collection with the wider Australian community. Artists include: Michael Aird, Tony Albert, Brook Andrew, Ali G. Baker, Daniel Boyd, Megan Cope, Brenda L. Croft, Nici Cumpston, Robert Fielding, Nicole Foreshew, Ricky Maynard, Danie Mellor, Steaphan Paton, Damien Shen, Darren Siwes, Christian Thompson, Warwick Thornton, James Tylor, and Jason Wing.
 

Exhibition Dates: Saturday 26 August – Sunday 29 October 2017 Official Opening: Friday 25 August, 5.30 – 7.30pm Programs and events: See SAM’s website www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

IMAGE: Christian Thompson, Gods and kings, 2015 (from the series Imperial relic), chromogenic colour, photograph National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 2016. Courtesy of Michael Reid, Sydney © the artist

This exhibition is supported by the Australian Government through Visions of Australia and the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, both Australian Government programs aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences are advised that the exhibition may contain images and voices of people who have since passed away.

For further information, print quality images, or to arrange interviews with SAM’s Director Rebecca Coates or artists included, please contact SAM Marketing Coordinators by phone (03) 5832 9494 or by email on sarah.werkmeister@shepparton.vic.gov.au or amina.barolli@shepparton.vic.gov.au.