Michael Cook’s Invasion series is admired equally for its cinematic quality and the important discussions it elicits. Cook places a creative eye on Australian colonial history, u-turning the dominant view and reversing racist practices imposed on Aboriginals.
By taking alien creatures: super-sized grubs, giant lizards, possums on UFOs and laser-shooting fembots, into iconic London-based cityscapes, invading the streets of the “mother” country with white urban residents the victims, Cook’s images express the shock that enveloped the Australian continent when European people appeared on Aboriginal shores.
Michael Cook, Invasion (Kangaroo), 2017, ed. 6 of 10, inkjet print, 81 × 120cm. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Cook, 2021. Benalla Art Gallery Collection. Courtesy the artist and Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria
Benalla Art Gallery
2 September to 23 October 2022
Victoria
