christian thompson

artist in residence

16 october - 14 november 2015

Christian Thompson is an important contemporary Indigenous artist whose father is a Bidjara man from Barcaldine in Queensland, and his mother is of British descent.

He was born in Gawler, South Australia, in 1978. His multidisciplinary practice explores notions of this cultural hybridity, along with identity and history, creating works that transcend cultural boundaries.

Thompson studied visual art in Brisbane and went on to undertake post graduate degrees in Melbourne, followed by a PhD in Fine Art at Oxford University in Britain in 2010. His time at Oxford has generated some important series of works; We bury our own, Pagan sun and The imperial relic. A selection from all three will be exhibited as part of this important solo exhibition, along with the video work Dead tongue.

We bury our own is a body of work that was developed in response to the historic collection of photography, featuring Aboriginal people from the late nineteenth century, at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. Thompson noted in 2012 that these early images "have permeated my work over the last year. They have remained at the forefront of every artistic experiment and they have pushed me into new territory, they have travelled with me... I was drawn to elements of opulence, ritual, homage, fragility, melancholy, strength and even a sense of play operating in the photographs..."

Each of Thompson's lyrical photographic images from We bury our own and Pagan sun feature himself partially disguised with props and costumes. The works are virtually monochromatic with elements highlighted in full colour, and his eyes, or face, are partially concealed or painted. The use of votive objects is explained in his equally lyrical 2012 statement: "I lamented the passing of the flowers at the meadow, I lit candles and offered blood to the ancestral beings, looked into the black sparkling sea, donned the Oxford garb, visited the water by fire light and bowed at the knees of the old father ghost gum." In two of the works from Pagan sun, Thompson has elongated the shape of his head, bringing to mind both the shape of a hoodie and the traditional headdress from Aboriginal corroborees - as photographed in the late 1880s. The embellishment of white feathers in Rocks on belly and the floral ribbon headdress in Scorch the earth, pay tribute to both his ancestral pagan pasts - Aboriginal and British, whilst the pale contact lenses give him a surreal otherworldly quality.

In his most recent series, The imperial relic, he continues to use himself as the 'armature for his characters, costumes and various props'. Drawing on his background in sculpture, he has created 'wearable sculptures' including a trumpet shaped shirt collar, an eruption of white flowers from a union jack hoodie, and an armature of maps. In each his face is partially or fully obscured again. "I'm interested in ideas of submission and domination," he says. "So the trumpet headpiece is beautiful, but it also potentially muffles or silences the voice. The same thing with maps: they are purporting different kinds of historical narrative, depending who is telling the story. One is about the history of Indigenous people, one is about the history of white colonisers and then one is about the idea of charting the land and of discovery. I'm wearing it as an armature over my own body: that's part of my own history but also of Australian history."

Christian Thompson has exhibited internationally and his artworks are included in many prestigious art collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of WA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Artbank and many more. He is represented in Australia by Michael Reid Gallery.

christian thompson artwork
dead tongue
video, 3 minutes 32 seconds
2015
$7,700
christian thompson  artwork
ship of dreams
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
100 x 100cm
2015
$8,800
gods and kings
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
100 x 100cm
2015
$8,800
christian thompson  artwork
ancient bloom
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
100 x 100cm
2015
$8,800
death's second self
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
100 x 100cm
2015
$8,800
christian thompson  artwork
energy matter
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
100 x 100cm
2012
$8,800
conjure by moon
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
122 x 122cm
2013
$NFS
christian thompson  artwork
rocks on belly
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
122 x 122cm
2013
$NFS
scorch the earth
c type print on fuji pearl metallic paper
122 x 122cm
2013
$NFS