Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) present the first and biggest retrospective of works by the late Josh Muir (1991 – 2022) in JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live on display from 26 October 2024 until 2 February 2025. Please see the attached media release for more information.
Josh Muir was a Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta and Barkindji artist, born in Ballarat who passed away suddenly at the young age of 30 in 2022. Josh’s artistic career spanned 12 years, during which he became a prolific artist and was expected to continue on a meteoric rise.JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live highlights the strength of Josh’s artistic practice and the important contribution he made to First Peoples art and culture in South East Australia, as well as to contemporary art nationally and internationally. It is co-curated by his mother, Justine Berg and partner Shanaya Sheridan, which adds to the heart and soul of the exhibition.
The works in the exhibition not only reflect Josh’s ongoing artistic legacy, but the artist himself immortalised through his art. The exhibition also emphasises Josh’s love of family and community, drawing on a range of themes including cultural identity, the impacts and legacies of colonisation, mental health, addiction, personal loss and grief.
The title JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live is inspired by an artwork of the same name — Forever I Live — (pictured) created by Josh in 2015 and exhibited in a solo exhibition titled Phoenix. JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live honours Josh’s brief but prolific artistic career.
Josh’s debut exhibition Don’t Spit the Dummy was first exhibited at the Koorie Heritage Trust as part of a 2013 group exhibition The Ballarat Four, which also included fellow Ballarat artists Deanne Gilson, Aunty Marlene Gilson and Aunty Bronwyn Razem. For The Ballarat Four, Josh drew inspiration from the street art he saw along the train line while travelling between Ballarat, where he was born and raised, and Naarm (Melbourne). Don’t Spit the Dummy showed the beginnings of what would become his distinctive vibrant and layered visual language, in addition to exploring the power of creating art during challenging times.
In 2016, Josh produced a large format public art commission in the form of an animated projection titled Still Here (2016) on the façade of the National Gallery of Victoria for White Night Melbourne 2016. This work tells the story of First Peoples in Victoria before and after colonisation.
“Life has changed, we have struggled, been treated badly… but we are still here – and growing stronger with each generation.” – Josh Muir.
“JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live carries on Josh’s memory and his legacy as an established artist, a son, a father, a partner, a brother and a friend to many. He will forever live on in all of us and through his work. I hope that his art will continue to bring light and hope to those struggling with their mental health, and to inspire people to chase their dreams. As Josh would say: Aim for the stars not the streetlights.” Shanaya Sheridan, Josh’s partner and co-curator
Louise Tegart, Director, Art Gallery of Ballarat, says: “We are honoured to be partnering with Koorie Heritage Trust to present this powerful and thought-provoking retrospective of Josh Muir, one the most important artists from Wadawurrung Country. This retrospective is a visual documentation of life experiences, told through the prolific, vibrant and sometimes overpowering lens of Josh Muir. As the Gallery becomes a temporary home to these significant works, we aim to ensure Josh Muir’s legacy continues and his art and story is shared for generations to come.”
Interviews with Koorie Heritage Trust’s Curator, and co-curator Shanaya Sheridan, are available on request. Images available here. Media please note: Josh’s family appreciates his first name being used when referring to Josh, rather than his last name by itself.
Image credit: Josh Muir, Forever I Live, (Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta, Barkindji)2015 digital print on aluminium 51 x 32 cm. Private Collection. Photo: Christian Capurro.
JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live is a Koorie Heritage Trust exhibition that was first presented at Koorie Heritage Trust, Narrm (Melbourne) from 9 March – 14 July 2024.
