Saturday 21 March – Sunday 10 May
Boroondara Arts is proud to present You Are Here, showing as part of the inaugural photography biennale PHOTO2020 at Town Hall Gallery from Saturday 21 March until Sunday 10 May.
PHOTO2020 explores the relationship of photography and truth in the post-internet age, with displays across 40 cultural institutions including Town Hall Gallery. The exhibition You Are Here features work from established and emerging artists, including newly commissioned works, inviting audiences to challenge preconceptions they may hold about Australian social and cultural constructs in the context of its physical landscape and current climate issues.
Featured artists include Duha Ali and Justine Youssef, Ophelia Bakowski, Miriam Charlie, Club Ate (Bhenji Ra and Justin Shoulder) in collaboration with Tristan Jallah, Nici Cumpston, Tammy Law, James Tylor and Anne Zahalka (pictured below).
The photography exhibition analyses the relationship with the landscape, defined for both the First Nations people and for those more recently arrived; interrogating deep cultural belonging, intertwined with a history of conflict, marginalisation and displacement.
The works examine connection and disconnection to country by expanding on traditional landscape photography, deconstructing how Australian land is occupied, and by exploring ideas of home and identity in the context of cultural, personal and historical narratives.
The artistic practice of James Tylor (pictured above) examines concepts around cultural identity and colonisation in Australian contemporary society and social history. He explores Australian cultural representations through his multi-cultural heritage which comprises Nunga, Maori, European and Australian ancestry. Tylor’s works focus largely on the 19th-century history of Australia and its continual influence on present-day issues surrounding cultural identity.
New works for this exhibition have been commissioned by Town Hall Gallery from artist Anne Zahalka, one of Australia’s most respected photographic artists with over 40 solo exhibitions and involvement with over 140 group exhibitions. Zahalka has consistently explored the conventions of documentary photography and its claims to represent the truth.
You Are Here sees Zahalka continue to draw on early Australian painting, selecting landscapes she has a history and connection to.
New works have also been commissioned from artist Miriam Charlie, a Garrawa woman from Borroloola, Northern Territory, whose work narrates the difficulty in connecting with healthcare and other services when living in remote Australian locations.
Presenting newly commissioned work with Justin Shoulder under the collective Club Ate, is Bhenji Ra, an interdisciplinary artist and founder of Sydney’s House of Slé and event Sissy Ball. Ra’s practise is often concerned with the dissection of cultural theory and identity, referencing traditional depictions of Mother Earth informed by her Filipino heritage.
Town Hall Gallery features a diverse range of contemporary public programs, curated exhibitions and exhibitions drawn from the Town Hall Gallery Collection, celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the City of Boroondara. A member of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria, Town Hall Gallery supports local, national and international artists at the varying stage of their careers and offers a space for local artists and community groups to exhibit professionally in a gallery environment.
Image credits:
James TYLOR, Economics of water #2 (Division) (2018), photographic print with gold paint, 100 x 100cm, image courtesy of the artist and Vivien Anderson Gallery.
Anne ZAHALKA, You Are On Dharawal Land! (2020), Archival pigment print, 150 x 210cm. Image courtesy of the artist and ARC ONE Gallery.
You Are Here
Saturday 21 March – Sunday 10 May
Opening: 21 March, 2pm – 4pm
Exhibition tours: Saturday 21 March, 1pm – 2pm & Wednesday 29 April, 6pm – 7pm
Panel discussion with selected artists: Sunday 3 May, 1.30pm – 3pm
Town Hall Gallery After Dark: Friday 8 May, 6pm – 8pm
All events are free
Town Hall Gallery, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
https://www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/events/you-are-here
