Joan Ross’ practice, spanning collage, printmaking, sculpture and video animation, probes the ongoing consequences of colonisation in Australia with wit and wry critique. Transforming scenes from colonial artworks through a digital “cut and paste” technique and her signature fluorescent yellow, Ross explores critical issues like climate change, greed and consumerism.
Here, Ross selected artworks from the National Portrait Gallery collection and situates them alongside her own. The result considers how colonial artworks are contextualised within cultural institutions and asks us to question stories within the archives of history.
Joan Ross, M’lady Ikebana, 2015. Courtesy the artist and National Portrait Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
National Portrait Gallery
24 August 2024 to 27 April 2025
Australian Capital Territory
