William Mackinnon Biography

In 2008 Mackinnon was awarded the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship, a prestigious two-year bursary that led the artist to travel the Kimberley where he was artist in residence at Mangkaja Arts in Fitzroy Crossing and a field officer for Papunya Tula artists, servicing the Kintore (NT) and Kiwikurra (WA) communities. His latest work gives a very personal account of what is for most Australians an unknown world, one often viewed through the dual veil of romanticism and prejudice.

Mackinnon completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne in 2000, a Postgraduate Diploma at the Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, in 2006 and a Master of Visual Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne in 2008. He has held solo exhibitions nationally and internationally, including The Lucky Country, Utopian Slumps, 2011; Boutwell, Draper Gallery, Sydney, 2010; Paintings Conceived While Driving, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2009; Mountains, Streams and Cave Dreams, Joint Hassles, Melbourne, 2008; The Covers Album, Joint Hassles, Melbourne, 2007; Not Anxious, Melbourne Art Rooms, Melbourne, 2005; and In and Out, Hewer St Studios, London, 2004. Selected group exhibitions include The Painting Group, Utopian Slumps, 2010; Hellʼs Bottom Drawer, curated by Susan Jacobs, Jess Johnson and Katherine Hattam, Hell Gallery, Melbourne, 2010; Contemporary Collage, John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne, 2008; Under the Influence, Warnambool Art Gallery, Victoria, 2007; Going Under, Joint Hassles, Melbourne, 2007; Empire Strikes Back, Hewer St Studios, London, 2006; Chase, Royal College, London, 2005; Cut and Paste, Pickled Art Centre, Beijing, 2002; and Homeshow, Next Wave Festival, Melbourne, 2002.