Jacqui Stockdale’s portraiture is beguiling and unconventional. ‘Familija’ charts her work in photography, painting, drawing and collage as she builds a material and conceptual picture of identity and Australian folklore. The 2005 series by the same name uses appropriation to debunk the myth of ‘terra nullius’ in the uninhabited landscapes of John Glover and Augustus Earle. The Boho (2015), considers masquerade, pairing actors against fanciful hand-painted backdrops, which will also be exhibited. This time she includes souvenir items from Glenrowan, a town of outlaws and the location of Ned Kelly’s last stand.
Stockdale’s staged compositions using masks and props have a dystopian view of our colonial history. Each mise en scène dares the audience to be de-coded, what is playful on the surface is darker at depth.
Benalla Art Gallery
9 September to 13 November, 2016
Victoria
Man of Quinn, 2016, type C print, 110 x 140cm
Girl in Darkness, 2007, pigment ink on Arches paper, edition of 10, 54 x 40cm
Courtesy the artist and Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria and THIS IS NO FANTASY, Melbourne