Historical information
Karen Casey (1956 – 2021) Palawa
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.
Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.
Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.
Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.
Karen Casey (1956 – 2021) Palawa
Signals [AT HOME] Development Drawing was conceived as a conceptual illustration during the early stages of the AT HOME project in early 2023. Collaborating with Common Collective and the [AT HOME] team, this drawing served as a practical instructional tool, aiding in conveying the installation's intention to the broader team, technicians, and homeowners. As such, it functions both as an artwork and a practical artifact stemming from this site-based project.
Documentation of site-specific intervention (Wyndham, Victoria)
Documentation of site-specific intervention (Wyndham, Victoria)
Edition 1/5 + 2AP
Sunil Gupta is a British/Canadian citizen, (b. New Delhi 1953) MA (RCA) PhD (Westminster) who lives in London and has been involved with independent photography as a critical practice for many years focusing on race, migration and queer issues. A retrospective was shown at The Photographers’ Gallery, London (2020/21) and The Image Center, Toronto. He is a Professorial Fellow at UCA, Farnham. His latest book is “We Were Here: Sexuality, Photography, and Cultural Difference, Selected Writings by Sunil Gupta”, Aperture New York 2022. His work is in many private and public collections including; the Tokyo Museum of Photography, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Royal Ontario Museum, Tate, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. His work is represented by Hales Gallery (New York, London), Materià Gallery (Rome), Stephen Bulger Gallery (Toronto) and Vadehra Art Gallery (New Delhi).
Part of Queer PHOTO (Midsumm x PHOTO 2024)
photography, british photography, queer photography, race, migration, portrait
Transfer drawing made at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and screen printed at Negative Press.
Edwina Green is a Trawlwoolway First Nations multidisciplinary artist based in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia) that works across painting, film, design, installation and sculpture to investigate narratives of perception, historical re-framing, cultural reclamation and the post- colonial paradigm and its impact on people and place. Graduating from The University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, she has since been exhibited extensively across Australia and internationally. Her research influenced practice, connection to culture, and ties to reclaiming intergenerational disconnection, inform her practice and it’s aims to challenge understandings and interactions of Indigeneity through dynamic and poetic works. She has exhibited in respected galleries and festivals such as Firstdraft, Pari Ari, Incinerator Gallery, The Granville Centre, SEVENTH Gallery, TCB Gallery, Collarworks (New York), Yirramboi, Gertrude St Projection Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, and EFFA (Environmental Film Festival.) She has also worked as an art director, producer and programmer for RISING Melbourne, Samsung, Arts Centre Melbourne, Next Wave, and Darebin City Council.
Edition of 4 + A/P. Pigment print by Hound & Bone Studio, screen printed and assembled by the artist and Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Edwina Green is a Trawlwoolway First Nations multidisciplinary artist based in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia) that works across painting, film, design, installation and sculpture to investigate narratives of perception, historical re-framing, cultural reclamation and the post- colonial paradigm and its impact on people and place. Graduating from The University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, she has since been exhibited extensively across Australia and internationally. Her research influenced practice, connection to culture, and ties to reclaiming intergenerational disconnection, inform her practice and it’s aims to challenge understandings and interactions of Indigeneity through dynamic and poetic works. She has exhibited in respected galleries and festivals such as Firstdraft, Pari Ari, Incinerator Gallery, The Granville Centre, SEVENTH Gallery, TCB Gallery, Collarworks (New York), Yirramboi, Gertrude St Projection Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, and EFFA (Environmental Film Festival.) She has also worked as an art director, producer and programmer for RISING Melbourne, Samsung, Arts Centre Melbourne, Next Wave, and Darebin City Council.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Dr Deanne Gilson is a proud Wadawurrung woman living on her ancestral Country of Ballarat. Her award-winning multidisciplinary art practice has spanned forty years full time creating through painting, clay (sculptural installation), fashion & textile design, photography, drawing and recently being recognised at the Koorie Heritage Trust for her work as a Blak Jewellery Designer. Celebrating her continued living culture through art and design that revives traditional marks used by Wadawurrung family, contemporary ceremonial business and including oral stories like her Creation Story. She depicts many indigenous plants, trees, birds, often painting endangered species to highlight the importance of taking care of the land and all living things. Working with the notion that time is traversed and all is connected through layers of Dja (Country), from the Cosmos, to Sky to Under Country. Alongside the issues faced by Aboriginal women stemming from the white male and female colonial gaze.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Dr Deanne Gilson is a proud Wadawurrung woman living on her ancestral Country of Ballarat. Her award-winning multidisciplinary art practice has spanned forty years full time creating through painting, clay (sculptural installation), fashion & textile design, photography, drawing and recently being recognised at the Koorie Heritage Trust for her work as a Blak Jewellery Designer. Celebrating her continued living culture through art and design that revives traditional marks used by Wadawurrung family, contemporary ceremonial business and including oral stories like her Creation Story. She depicts many indigenous plants, trees, birds, often painting endangered species to highlight the importance of taking care of the land and all living things. Working with the notion that time is traversed and all is connected through layers of Dja (Country), from the Cosmos, to Sky to Under Country. Alongside the issues faced by Aboriginal women stemming from the white male and female colonial gaze.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Marlene is a proud Wadawurrung artist, who currently lives in regional Victoria. Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist's meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to Country.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Marlene is a proud Wadawurrung artist, who currently lives in regional Victoria. Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist's meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to Country.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Ellie Franks is a proud Gubbi Gubbi woman, living and working in Naarm. Her practice is print informed and utilises print techniques to talk to concepts of identity, belonging and connection. She focuses on the malleability of materials and leans into the fluid nature of various mediums, mistakes and chance. Ellie graduated from RMIT University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently participating in the 2023 Koorie Heritage Trust Blak Design Program.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
Ellie Franks is a proud Gubbi Gubbi woman, living and working in Naarm. Her practice is print informed and utilises print techniques to talk to concepts of identity, belonging and connection. She focuses on the malleability of materials and leans into the fluid nature of various mediums, mistakes and chance. Ellie graduated from RMIT University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently participating in the 2023 Koorie Heritage Trust Blak Design Program.
Matrices and images made by the artist at Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Community Centre, and editions printed at Negative Press. Edition of 4 + A/P. Printed by Trent Walter at Negative Press.
From the tranquil Lake Condah on Gunditjmara land, my artistic journey began on my Grandmothers country (Gunditjmara). Over six fruitful years, I've honed my craft as a professional artist, specialising in acrylics on canvas, captivating murals of varying scales, and digital innovation. A modern storyteller, my creations intricately weave tales of place, country, identity, and connection—a tribute to the past, a celebration of the present, and a gaze into the future. My palette, a symphony of colours, harmonises with each location's spirit and the rhythm of changing seasons. Having collaborated with Government, Private, and Corporate sectors, my work has adorned diverse spaces with its charm. A pivotal chapter saw me join forces with the esteemed artist Adnate, together crafting five murals that transcend reality, delve into cultural depths, and explore spirituality. As I stand today, my art echoes untold stories, honouring heritage, and uniting human experiences across time's canvas.
Mural
public art, mural, australian first nations art, cultural story
Winner Wyndham Art Prize LEAP Award 2023
Ngaya is a cut and paste, collage, punked-up look at my Country. It’s a country with conflicting narratives which the film explores through found footage and animation. It looks at Country from an insider-outsider perspective, someone who at once belongs to the Country but who has never lived on Country for any extended time, and has viewed it from Naarm for the past twenty years. I want people to think about the snow country away from being a holiday destination to be exploited, to think about the first people of the snow and fragility of Country.
australian first nations art, video, ngarigo, animation, identity, country
Tony Albert’s 2022 solo exhibition at Sullivan+Strumpf, Remark, continues the artist’s investigation into the imagery and identification of appropriated Indigenous Australian iconography in domestic decoration and design. Incorporating fabric from his extensive collection of ‘Aboriginalia’, Remark sees Albert expand on his acclaimed Conversations with Margaret Preston series dimensionality, critically engaging with the fabric in his own right. Like the fabric of Australian society, the appropriated Indigenous imagery printed on souvenir tea towels intertwines in a complicated web of national identity. These are not images by Aboriginal people and our voices and autonomy continued to be silenced through the object’s inauthenticity. As a country we must reconcile with these objects’ very existence. They are painful reiterations of a violent and oppressive history, but we also cannot hide or destroy them because they are an important societal record that should not be forgotten. As an artist this juxtaposition and tension fascinates me.
Tony Albert’s multidisciplinary practice investigates contemporary legacies of colonialism, prompting audiences to contemplate the human condition. Drawing on both personal and collective histories, Albert explores the ways in which optimism can be utilised to overcome adversity. His work poses important questions such as how do we remember, give justice to, and rewrite complex and traumatic histories. Albert’s technique and imagery are distinctly contemporary, displacing traditional Australian Aboriginal aesthetics with an urban conceptuality. Appropriating textual references from sources as diverse as popular music, film, fiction, and art history, Albert plays with the tension arising from the visibility, and in-turn, the invisibility of Aboriginal People across the news media, literature, and the visual world.
australian first nations art, colonialisation
Tony Albert’s 2022 solo exhibition at Sullivan+Strumpf, Remark, continues the artist’s investigation into the imagery and identification of appropriated Indigenous Australian iconography in domestic decoration and design. Incorporating fabric from his extensive collection of ‘Aboriginalia’, Remark sees Albert expand on his acclaimed Conversations with Margaret Preston series dimensionality, critically engaging with the fabric in his own right. Like the fabric of Australian society, the appropriated Indigenous imagery printed on souvenir tea towels intertwines in a complicated web of national identity. These are not images by Aboriginal people and our voices and autonomy continued to be silenced through the object’s inauthenticity. As a country we must reconcile with these objects’ very existence. They are painful reiterations of a violent and oppressive history, but we also cannot hide or destroy them because they are an important societal record that should not be forgotten. As an artist this juxtaposition and tension fascinates me.
Tony Albert’s multidisciplinary practice investigates contemporary legacies of colonialism, prompting audiences to contemplate the human condition. Drawing on both personal and collective histories, Albert explores the ways in which optimism can be utilised to overcome adversity. His work poses important questions such as how do we remember, give justice to, and rewrite complex and traumatic histories. Albert’s technique and imagery are distinctly contemporary, displacing traditional Australian Aboriginal aesthetics with an urban conceptuality. Appropriating textual references from sources as diverse as popular music, film, fiction, and art history, Albert plays with the tension arising from the visibility, and in-turn, the invisibility of Aboriginal People across the news media, literature, and the visual world.
australian first nations art, colonialisation
Tony Albert’s 2022 solo exhibition at Sullivan+Strumpf, Remark, continues the artist’s investigation into the imagery and identification of appropriated Indigenous Australian iconography in domestic decoration and design. Incorporating fabric from his extensive collection of ‘Aboriginalia’, Remark sees Albert expand on his acclaimed Conversations with Margaret Preston series dimensionality, critically engaging with the fabric in his own right. Like the fabric of Australian society, the appropriated Indigenous imagery printed on souvenir tea towels intertwines in a complicated web of national identity. These are not images by Aboriginal people and our voices and autonomy continued to be silenced through the object’s inauthenticity. As a country we must reconcile with these objects’ very existence. They are painful reiterations of a violent and oppressive history, but we also cannot hide or destroy them because they are an important societal record that should not be forgotten. As an artist this juxtaposition and tension fascinates me.
Tony Albert’s multidisciplinary practice investigates contemporary legacies of colonialism, prompting audiences to contemplate the human condition. Drawing on both personal and collective histories, Albert explores the ways in which optimism can be utilised to overcome adversity. His work poses important questions such as how do we remember, give justice to, and rewrite complex and traumatic histories. Albert’s technique and imagery are distinctly contemporary, displacing traditional Australian Aboriginal aesthetics with an urban conceptuality. Appropriating textual references from sources as diverse as popular music, film, fiction, and art history, Albert plays with the tension arising from the visibility, and in-turn, the invisibility of Aboriginal People across the news media, literature, and the visual world.
australian first nations art, colonialisation
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, portrait, digital, photography
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, photography, digital, portrait
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, digital, portrait, photography
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, digital, portrait, photography
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital
This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.
african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital
5 x painted boards
Werribee River Book features broken glass, garbage, wood, feathers and jars of water taken from the water along the Werribee River. This work was created as part of a professional development program, Wunder Gym, which gave the artist an opportunity to work with the Werribee River keeper and a local historian to create an artwork. Wyndham Art Prize LEAP 2021 Winner
LEAP 2021 Winner
Mural
public art, mural, australian art
Victorian Collections acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.