We are delighted to invite you to view Ghost Hoovanah, an exhibition of new work by Jacqui Stockdale. Introducing live animals into the picture, Stockdale explores the play between dualities and re-examines the notion of migration and voyage as part of the Australian story. Her theatrical portraits integrate human and animal, ghost and mortal, memory and documented history. In the photographs her new subjects are clad in headdresses and posed in front of a large hand painted backdrop depicting the remains of a gold mining quarry in Bendigo, Victoria. It was originally a Chinese precinct called Dai Gum San, meaning, Big Gold Mountain, land of Hope and Fortune.
'The crux of the artist's revisionist position is the reanimation of voices that paternal histories repress. The awakening brings forth mothers, monsters, lovers and the wild folk, known to haunt the colonial scene.' —Damian Smith, 2018.
Jacqui Stockdale is one of Australia's significant contemporary artists, exhibiting globally since 2007. She is renowned for her humorous, magical and symbolic images that include theatrical portrait photography, painting, drawing and collage. Her practice engages cultural identity, folklore and the transformative nature of masquerade and ritual in society.
In 2016 Stockdale featured in the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Magic Object, followed by a major survey exhibition at Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria. International exhibitions include Living Rooms, at the Louvre Museum, Paris; All Masquerade!, Museum Villa Rot, Germany; Volta, Switzerland; and Wonderworks, Hong Kong. In 2012 Stockdale won the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize. Her work is held in permanent collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Newcastle Art Gallery, Albury Regional Gallery, Benalla Art Gallery, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Artbank and the Watermill Foundation Collection, USA.
Stockdale was 'artist in residence' with Circus Oz in Mexico in 2007 and performed as 'the artista' with the Burlesque Hour, 2004. As recent founder of ARTCLASSCO, a mini art school in Melbourne, Stockdale has also extended her creative knowledge to many forums around Australia, including Indigenous communities, youth, and prisoners. An ABC TV documentary about her practice titled 'Heart', featuring hand-drawn animations, won Best Documentary at the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival.
Press release courtesy THIS IS NO FANTASY.
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