Artists statement
“Although acknowledgements of country are very necessary, there is something so painful about hearing people in power acknowledge Aboriginal country whilst at the same time doing nothing to support Aboriginal people or land in meaningful ways. The amount of CEOS, politicians, and people in power who acknowledge country whilst actively benefitting from Aboriginal Land is sickening. Words can only do so much. What we really want is our land back.” – Mia Boe
Artist Bio
Mia Boe is a painter from Brisbane with Butchulla and Burmese ancestry. The inheritance and disinheritance of both cultures is the focus of her practice. Boe’s paintings respond, sometimes obliquely, to historical and contemporary acts of violence perpetrated on the people and lands of Burma and Australia.
Boe received a Bachelor of Art, majoring in Art History from the University of Queensland in 2020. In 2021, she was a recipient of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship from the Art Gallery of New South Wales and in 2024 she was the Fiona Foley Residency recipient, where she undertook a residency on K’gari and Hervey Bay in Queensland. She was a Gertrude Contemporary Studio Artist between 2022 and 2024, and has undertaken further residencies in Mexico City and Sydney.