Born in Melbourne in 1913, Noel Counihan was a social realist painter, printmaker and cartoonist, and a passionate social campaigner. The namesake of Merri-bek City Council’s Counihan Gallery, his experiences of unemployment and poverty during the 1930s, and his lifelong involvement in protest movements, inspired his powerful and prolific images of the working class. Donated by the De Fazio family

Turbo is a portrait of beloved local artist Trevor ‘Turbo’ Brown by Brunswick-based artist Amaya Iturri. Brown was a Latje Latje artist known for his bright paintings of dogs, birds and other Australian animals. Iturri worked with Brown in 2013 for the One of a Kind mural commission, supported by Merri-bek City Council, which can still be seen at Sparta Place, Brunswick. The two artists complement each other’s work, as they both use bright, figurative methods of painting to explore their subject matter. Iturri uses vivid blocks of colour to bring together a candid image of Brown drinking a coffee, which he often carried when out and about in Brunswick. The flecks of colour in the portrait blurs what is light and shade, and what is paint on Brown’s hands and face. True to Iturri’s painting practice, this portrait depicts Trevor ‘Turbo’ Brown as a local icon inseparable from his artworks – the perfect meeting place between life and art.

Uncle Brian McKinnon (b. 1957 – d. 2023) was a Geelong-based artist and descendent of the Amangu and Wongai people of Western Australia. He created powerful mixed media works that explore his campaign for Aboriginal rights and his childhood experiences growing up in Western Australia. Scars is a deeply personal and political work that reflects on some of the ways in which Aboriginal people have historically been discriminated against and marginalised because of the colour of their skin and cultural practices. Originally exhibited with two other paintings, it was also made in honour of the artist’s children and their struggle to maintain positive self-esteem. Uncle Brian McKinnon said his children inherited keloids from their ancestors: ‘These keloids look like body scars. In this work, I have placed them in the past and the presence of their ancestors through the act of beautifying the marks, which reflect the landscape and the identity of the person wearing the beautification marks. Although the marks on my children are not so beautiful and they are ostracised because of them, this made me think of racist policies and of course the referendum and when my people were seen for the first time as being human.’

Rennie Ellis (1940–2003) was as a pivotal figure in Australian visual culture. He was both a documentary photographer and a prominent presence in advertising, television and photography. Ellis was known for his candid documentary images of contemporary Australian life. His photographs of social events, such as music festivals, fashion parades or nightclubs are iconic, but his practice also encompassed the grittier side of life. In his AFL series, Ellis skilfully portrays the nation’s passion for the game, extending his lens beyond the boundary line to showcase the spirited fans alongside the on-field action.Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Rennie Ellis was an Australian documentary photographer and a key figure in Australian visual culture. Grand Final breakfast 1982 depicts a cluttered table during a football Grand Final day breakfast. The messily covered tablecloth, as well as the appearance of alcohol at a morning event, displays the signature larrikin attitude and passion with which football events are undertaken in Australia. This work was shown in the 2017 Counihan Gallery exhibition Leather Poisoning, along with many other works by Ellis, capturing the nation’s love of the game. Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Rennie Ellis (1940–2003) was as a pivotal figure in Australian visual culture. He was both a documentary photographer and a prominent presence in advertising, television and photography. Ellis was known for his candid documentary images of contemporary Australian life. His photographs of social events, such as music festivals, fashion parades or nightclubs are iconic, but his practice also encompassed the grittier side of life. In his AFL series, Ellis skilfully portrays the nation’s passion for the game, extending his lens beyond the boundary line to showcase the spirited fans alongside the on-field action.Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Rennie Ellis (1940–2003) was as a pivotal figure in Australian visual culture. He was both a documentary photographer and a prominent presence in advertising, television and photography. Ellis was known for his candid documentary images of contemporary Australian life. His photographs of social events, such as music festivals, fashion parades or nightclubs are iconic, but his practice also encompassed the grittier side of life. In his AFL series, Ellis skilfully portrays the nation’s passion for the game, extending his lens beyond the boundary line to showcase the spirited fans alongside the on-field action. In Ellis’ photograph Malcom Fraser, VFL Grand Final 1979 we see a young supporter shake hands with Liberal Prime Minister, Malcom Fraser. In the grand Australian tradition, politicians and PMs are active in the football sphere. This work was shown in the 2017 Counihan Gallery exhibition Leather Poisoning, along with many other works by Ellis capturing the nations love of the game. Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Rennie Ellis (1940–2003) was as a pivotal figure in Australian visual culture. He was both a documentary photographer and a prominent presence in advertising, television and photography. Ellis was known for his candid documentary images of contemporary Australian life. His photographs of social events, such as music festivals, fashion parades or nightclubs are iconic, but his practice also encompassed the grittier side of life. In his AFL series, Ellis skilfully portrays the nation’s passion for the game, extending his lens beyond the boundary line to showcase the spirited fans alongside the on-field action.Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Lauraine Diggins OAM

Donated by Peter Cox

Donated through the Commonwealth Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Samuel Condon

Carol Porter’s artwork Don’t get mad, get elected! features a woman towering over Parliament House in Canberra. Below her, tiny suit-clad politicians run screaming as she holds one of their colleagues upside-down, and another tumbles from her grasp. The look on her face is cool and determined; it is a reversal of the more common horror poster trope of ‘damsel in distress’. Porter says of the work: ‘It was tapping into the fact that women should get into power and make a difference’. Porter is a contemporary political cartoonist and poster artist who has worked out of Melbourne since the 1970s. She uses humour in her social commentary on various Australian issues and is well known for the prints she produced at RedPlanet – the alternative poster press inspired by an anti-elitist mission to reconnect art with communities. The poster was commissioned by the Victorian Women’s Trust. It first appeared on Melbourne billboards in 1997, a year after the federal election that swept John Howard to power.Donated by the artist

Donated by Paul Batt

Louise Paramor says, “I just love colour and playing around with it, it makes me feel good. I get a kick out of harmonising colour in conjunction with form. I think if there was more finely tuned colour in the world it would be a better place. There exists a lot of untamed colour in the everyday and to me this is often creates a feeling that is the opposite of uplifting.” In this work, Paramor creates a utopian building from collaged pieces of paper, which have been painted in planes of coloured enamel. Often these collages become sculptures, for which Paramor is mainly known. Andy Gomez writes of Boomtown, “Louise Paramor invites us into her own fabricated domain, where colours are coherent and vivid, buildings are unique and non-conformist, where public sculpture exists for the sake of form, colour, line, and levity. There is an inherent optimism at work here, exalting the accomplishments and ingenuity of the urban sprawl and the enforced participation of a shared culture and experience that offers.”

Hoda Afshar's 2018 body of work, "Remain," offers a forthright and unapologetic political commentary on Australia's border protection policy, shedding light on its impact on human rights. This collection comprises a film and a series of photographic portraits that chronicle the stories of stateless men who chose to stay on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, even after the closure of the immigration detention centre in October 2017. In the accompanying film, the experiences of these men are conveyed through episodic fragments, narrated with a mix of lyrical and brutal voiceovers. Some express themselves through poetry, others through song, while some recall the riots and suicides. Set against the backdrop of a picturesque landscape featuring lush foliage and crystal-clear water—a stark contrast to the harsh realities described—the emotional impact of the work is intensified. It creates a simultaneous sense of beauty and horror. The photographic portraits of the same individuals are equally compelling. Positioned prominently against a dark backdrop, these subjects assert their presence, emphasizing their right to be seen. The deliberate simplicity of these portraits serves as a powerful political statement, countering the invisibility imposed by the act of detention. Afshar metaphorically acknowledges the struggles faced by these men, depicting them contending with the elements—fire, water, and earth—yet never questioning their inherent humanity. Here we see Behrouz Boochani, the Kurdish Iranian writer whose memoir ‘No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from the Manus Prison’ won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Literature and the Prize for Non-Fiction in 2019. Boochani was held in detention on Manus Island from 2013 until the centre’s closure in 2017 and was forced to remain on the island in a stateless condition.

Working across installation, video and painting, Quandamooka artist Megan Cope investigates issues relating to colonial histories, the environment and mapping practices. Black Napoleon (Eulope) is part of a series of lithographs that highlights what Cope sees as ‘just one of the many stories of powerful and clever people defying Empire’ at the turn of the 19th century in Australia. The Black Napoleon series was produced as part of the Australian Print Workshop’s French Connections project. The project aimed to produce new work responding to the National Archive in Paris, with a focus on cultural materials relating to early exploration of Australia and the Pacific. It was important to Cope that she did not simply repeat the material of the archive, which was collected and conserved within a colonial framework. Instead, Cope’s work addresses Eulope’s sovereignty and role in resisting invasion. Eulope was a Quandamooka man named after Napoleon Buonaparte because of his leadership in battles against British forces, which invaded Stradbroke Island in the early 1800s.

Primarily working across painting and digital art, Lazzaro’s artworks are characterised by figures of wrestlers, vampires, zombies, toys and subjects from imaginary worlds. Often using gouache, acrylic and paint pen, Lazzaro’s imagery blends sinister interpretations with a quirky sense of humour. Lazzarro’s works usually depict historical figures, pop-culture icons or people he has met or seen. This work depicts two women holding hands. Lazzaro has been a regular studio artist at Arts Project Australia since 2004. Arts Project Australia supports artists with intellectual disabilities through their studio and gallery, promoting artists’ work and advocating for their inclusion in contemporary art practice.

Dorothy Berry paints and draws with great energy, using vibrant colours and thick, gestural strokes of paint and pastel. Her work is usually a form of portraiture, often depicting women or birds. In this portrait, Berry has depicted the late American jazz singer Billie Holiday. Berry has been a regular studio artist at Arts Project Australia since 1985. Arts Project Australia supports artists with intellectual disabilities through their studio and gallery, promoting artists’ work and advocating for their inclusion in contemporary art practice.

Peta Clancy is a descendent of the Bangerang people from South-Eastern Australia. She explores hidden histories of colonisation in Australia. Through manipulating photographic prints, she reconstructs these hidden histories in a contemporary setting. In 2018, Clancy was awarded the inaugural Fostering Koorie Art and Culture grant from the Koorie Heritage Trust. The grant enabled her to collaborate with the Dja Dja Wurrung community to create a body of work investigating massacre sites on Dja Dja Wurrung country. The exhibition Undercurrent at the Koorie Heritage Trust focussed on a massacre site submerged under water. Clancy says of the exhibition and this work: ‘I explored this site as a metaphor for the hidden history of many massacres throughout Australia and the denial of this aspect of our history and the trauma these sites evoke’.