Author Description

The exhibition Just Not Australian brings together 20 artists whose work stands at the forefront of national debate and contemporary visual arts practice: Abdul Abdullah, Hoda Afshar, Tony Albert, Cigdem Aydemir, Liam Benson, Eric Bridgeman, Jon Campbell, Karla Dickens, Fiona Foley, Gordon Hookey, Richard Lewer, Archie Moore, Vincent Namatjira, Nell, Raquel Ormella, Ryan Presley, Joan Ross, Tony Schwensen and Soda Jerk. Representing diverse generations and cultural backgrounds, the exhibition deals broadly with the origins and implications of contemporary Australian nationhood. Consciously enlisting tactics of larrikinism, satire and resistance, the artists present a multifarious nation divided across numerous issues, from immigration and border protection to land rights and Indigenous sovereignty, bigotry and xenophobia to resource exploitation and climate change.Curated by Artspace, Sydney, and initially presented there as part of the 2019 Sydney Festival, the exhibition is touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW to 12 different regional venues across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. This exhibition catalogue has been produced by Artspace and Museums & Galleries NSW to accompany the exhibition. The catalogue features a newly commissioned essay by Wardandi/Badimaya woman Clothilde Bullen, Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; an interview with Soda Jerk about their included work TERROR NULLIUS; and texts on the work of each of the participating artists.