Skip to main content
  • Bendigo
Bendigo Art Gallery
  • OPEN 10AM - 5PM
  • 035434 6088

Bendigo Art Gallery Main Menu

  • Visit
    • Visit Us

      General Details
      • Registration and ticketing
      • Getting Here
      • Access
      • Gallery Shop
      • Gallery Cafe
      • Media
      • Social Media
      About Us
      • History of Bendigo Art Gallery
      • History of Post Office Gallery
      • Bendigo Art Gallery Board
      • Management and Staff
      • Bendigo Art Gallery Architecture
      Contact Us
      Blog

      Bendigo Art Gallery
      • 42 View Street, Bendigo, VIC 3550
      • (+61 3) 5434 6088
      • OPEN 10AM - 5PM


      Post Office Gallery
      • 51-67 Pall Mall, Bendigo, VIC 3550
      • (+61 3) 5434 6179
      • OPEN 10AM - 4PM
  • Exhibitions
    • Exhibitions

      Now Showing
      Upcoming
      Past
  • Events
  • Art
    • Art

      Collections
      • Explore the collection
      • Copyright and Reproduction Requests
      • Publications
      Prizes
      • Paul Guest Prize
      • Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize
      • Going Solo Series
  • Learn
    • Learn

      Educational Programs
      Education Resources
      Education Enquiry
      Education eNews
      Mary Quant Student Programs
  • Support Us
    • Support Us

      Cultural Gifts Program
      Bequest
      Sponsors and Partners
      • Become a Member
      • Volunteer
      • Make a Donation
      Become a Member

      Enjoy previews, discount exhibition tickets, and receive benefits through our network.

      More Information
      Volunteer

      Join a special group of volunteers, who lead tours, help staff, fundraise and more.

      More Information
      Make a Donation

      Make a tax-deductible donation – help us to run special projects and continue to grow the collection.

      More Information
  • Post office Gallery
  • Explore the region
Popular Searches:
  • Bendigo

      Bendigo

      Bendigo is a vibrant contemporary regional centre, boasting beautiful streets created from one of the world’s greatest gold rushes. Every visit will reveal new surprises and experiences. Visit
      • Things To Do

      • Art and Culture

      • Eat and Drink

      • What's On

      • About Bendigo

  • Castlemaine, Maldon & Surrounds

      Castlemaine, Maldon & Surrounds

      Castlemaine boasts a remarkable community of artists, writers, actors and designers, who offer a host of galleries, theatres, festivals, bookshops and boutiques. It’s a theme that runs through nearby Maldon, Newstead and Harcourt. Visit
      • The Mill Castlemaine

      • Victorian Goldfields Railway

      • Things to do

      • Eat and Drink

      • Arts and Culture

  • Maryborough & Surrounds

      Maryborough & Surrounds

      Rich in history and opportunity... today’s visitors come to Maryborough and the surrounding villages for many reasons. Many come to wander through the lovely box-ironbark forests with their wildflowers, birds and superb display of Wattle in the spring. Others come to research family history and discover a connection to the Victorian gold rush, or to visit nearby wineries or explore markets, galleries and museums. Visit
      • Maryborough Railway Station

      • Talbot Farmers Market

      • Coiltek Gold Centre

  • Loddon Valley

      Loddon Valley

      Take a deep breath… and travel along the meandering roads of the Loddon Valley. They start at untouched historic villages, weave their way up to spectacular views on granite strewn hilltops, through ancient forests, and then alongside wide flowing rivers and vast wetlands. Visit
      • Natural Wonders

      • Antiques and Collectables

      • Wedderburn Coach House Gallery and Museum

  • Bendigo Art Gallery

      Bendigo Art Gallery

      One of Australia's oldest and largest regional galleries presenting innovative exhibitions alongside a dynamic and varied suite of public programs and events. Our collection is extensive, with an emphasis on 19th century European art and Australian art from the 1800's, alongside a strong collection of contemporary Australian art.
      Visit
      • Bendigo Art Gallery

      • Visiting the Gallery

  • Bendigo Venues & Events

      Bendigo Venues & Events

      Bendigo Venues and Events nurtures, develops, presents and celebrates performing arts and culture for Bendigo and central Victorian communities. Visit
      • Welcome to Bendigo Venues and Events

      • Venues

  • Heathcote

      Heathcote

      Throughout the year, find fabulous festivals and events offering the perfect chance to meet the friendly residents, taste the great local produce and see why Heathcote is one of the best, and most beautiful, places in the world. Visit
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Current: What's on your mind?
  • What's on your mind?

    13 Feb 20

Overview

  • Authors:Shonae Hobson

Over the years, artists have capitalised on digital technologies to push the boundaries of their creative practice in new and exciting ways.  This is particularly evident in Australia, where First Nations artists are utilising ‘new media art’i  as a means of both political resilience and cultural expression.

Indigenous artists are no longer confined to producing works of a particular ‘Indigenous style’, but are expressing their culture in contemporary ways. More than ever, these artists are experimenting and working in variety of art mediums that include installation, animation, mixed-media, performance, video and digital art. Utilising these diverse platforms and mediums these artists actively engage with issues pertaining to history, identity and race. What has evolved into the landscape of Indigenous visual culture as a result, is a new wave of contemporary artists capitalising on the agency of art as a platform for agitation, pushing boundaries, challenging contested histories and reshaping dominant narratives around Indigenous art history. 

In the 1980s, in the inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne, the production of large-scale murals by young Indigenous people symbolically and literally transformed urban spaces into locations that visually communicated Indigenous presence.ii  These artworks disputed the false narratives that surrounded South Eastern Indigenous culture and the urban landscape. Contemporary artists such as Brook Andrew and Reko Rennie, interrogate the constructs of western art history and Eurocentric institutions by covering the facades of public buildings with bold, political artworks that reassert the presence of an Indigenous voice that has historically been supressed.    

Tapping into this wave of artistic innovators is Gunditjmara/Yorta Yorta artist Josh Muir. Utilising the tools of his time, Muir’s flair for bold neon installations and digitally rendered graphics, showcases his ability to combine his Indigenous heritage with a broader contemporary visual language. Within his work he adopts images from pop culture and street art with a nod to his upbringing as well as universal themes of nostalgia and adolescence. Having spent much of his youth in Ballarat, inspired by cartoons and street art, Muir’s visual aesthetic conveys a rich understanding of what it’s like to be a young person, especially one growing up in a regional community today.

His latest installation What’s on your mind? reveals a personal and intimate side of youth identity. Combining elements of audio, animation and graphic design, this eight piece installation takes you on a journey through the artist’s mind, exploring personal self-discovery and struggles with mental health. Each of the eight digital prints are accompanied by audio and animation, which allow the viewer to engage dynamically and deeply with his inner narrative, almost as if we are entering the artist’s own personal psychosis.  

Within each digital print, Muir skilfully and poetically utilises powerful symbols that speak to broader social issues of black identity while shedding light on the importance of Indigenous culture and connection to traditional Country as a means of dealing with personal struggles. Synonymous with power and sovereignty, the gold crown, as seen in FLOURISH, is a recurring symbol for many black artists working in an urban context and has been adopted in the works of Jean Michel Basquiat and Reko Rennie. With similar associations, the artwork SEARCH depicts two self-portraits. These self-portraits situate Muir within his own work, reinforcing the presence of Indigenous voice. CLEANSE illustrates the artist’s connection to his traditional lands. For many Indigenous peoples, Country is the main source of healing, and for Muir his connection with his Country has allowed him to cope with the pressures of mental health and the pressures of living in a colonial environment.

Whats on your Mind? demonstrates Muir’s creative sophistication as an artist of daring flair. His fun and playful aesthetic, pop culture references and use of digital technologies, illustrates his ability to engage and relate to broad audiences. In this way, Muir draws connections across cultures, but at the heart of his practice is a deep and personal affiliation with his traditional Indigenous culture and that of his lived experience as a young Indigenous man navigating the complexities of living between two very different worlds.  

 ‘I hold my culture strong to my heart and it gives me a voice and great sense of my identity. I look around I see empires built on Aboriginal land, I cannot physically change or shift this, though I can make the most of my culture in a contemporary setting and my art projects reflect my journey.’iii  

Shonae Hobson 
First Nations Curator, Bendigo Art Gallery

i New Media Art refers to artworks created with new technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, internet art, interactive art, video games, computer robotics, 3D printing and art as biotechnology. 

ii Fran Edmonds, ‘Making murals, revealing histories: Murals as an assertion of Aboriginality in Melbourne’s inner north’, in Urban Representations, AITSIS Research Publications, 2012. 

iii Josh Muir, email correspondence, January 25, 2019.  
 


↑
Subscribe to

Our Newsletter

  • Bendigo Art Gallery
  • Phone: (+61 3) 5434 6088
  • 42 View Street, Bendigo, VIC 3550
  • Open 10am - 5pm
  • (except Christmas Day)
  • Post Office Gallery
  • Phone: (+61 3) 5434 6088
  • 51-67 Pall Mall, Bendigo, VIC 3550
  • Open 10am - 4pm
  • (except Christmas Day)

AG Footer Menu 1

  • Visit
  • Exhibitions
  • Events
  • Art

AG Footer Menu 2

  • Learn
  • Contact us
  • Post Office Gallery
  • Support Us

© 2021 Bendigo Art Gallery

AG Footer Menu 3

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Bendigo Art Gallery is proudly owned and operated by the City of Greater Bendigo with additional support from Creative Victoria.
  • Bendigo City
  • Creative Victoria
  • Victoria State

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more