Curated by Tian Zhang, this exhibition brings together four contemporary Sydney-based artists who interrogate and rejuvenate mainstream representations of Australia. Abdul Abdullah, Idil Abdullahi, Liam Benson and Amala Groom use personal approaches to explore broader political and existential issues to reveal the disparities between individual and national identity with many of the works were developed in response to particular national policies, issues or imagery; including Aboriginal Sovereignty, Islamophobia, women’s rights, refugees and the LGBTIQ community.

Liam Benson, Coat of Arms, 2009, C-type print
Informed by the local community surrounding the gallery, the impetus of the exhibition lies in Zhang’s own experience as a Chinese-Australian growing up in the 1990s, when people feared that Australia was being ‘swamped by Asians’; “I became aware that my own personal identity no longer fit into the national narrative,” she recalls. “As a curator, I wanted to present an exhibition where people from different backgrounds could see themselves and their viewpoints represented”, she asserts.
“My vision for ‘I Am, You Are, We Are, They Are’ was to facilitate a space for the public to consider the concept of ‘Australianness’ – how this construct of national identity is created and by whom, how this construct impacts communities and individuals and how we are able to move forward towards a shared national identity that is a true reflection of the diversity of our country.”

Amala Groom, The invisibility of blackness, 2014, single-channel digital video. Photograph: Liz Warning
Peacock Gallery and Auburn Arts Studio
21 March to 14 May, 2017
Sydney