If you’re a local or visiting Brisbane, whether you have a spare 30 minutes to drop in for a dose of art at either of our neighbouring buildings — the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art — or a leisurely 3 hours to wander both sites, here are some suggestions to make the most of your visit.

Pick and choose your preferences from the range of contemporary and historical Australian, Asian, Pacific and international art on display.There’s something for everyone, whether you’re aged 3 or 103.

Queensland Art Gallery

The Queensland Art Gallery building opened in 1982 as part of the first stage of the Queensland Cultural Centre at South Bank; until then, the Gallery never had a purpose-built permanent home. Designed around the Brisbane River, the spectacular Watermall’s cavernous interior runs parallel to the waterway threading its way through the ‘River City’.

Queensland Art Gallery / Photograph: M Sherwood © QAGOMA

Queensland Art Gallery / Photograph: M Sherwood © QAGOMA / View full image

Collection highlights: Australian art

The work of Australian artists have been collected by the Queensland Art Gallery since its foundation in 1895, however few works in our Collection have enjoyed as much popularity as Under the jacaranda 1903 by R Godfrey Rivers (illustrated). Considered a quintessential image of Brisbane, the clouds of purple blooms capture the attention of Gallery visitors and has ensured the painting’s enduring appeal. Hanging alongside is Monday morning 1912 by Vida Lahey (illustrated), another of the Gallery’s most loved works. The painting of two young women doing the family wash, once a common sight in Australian households, now a recording of a by-gone era.

Interesting facts: Under the jacaranda depicts the first jacaranda tree grown in Australia, planted in Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens in 1864; while the laundry room depicted in Monday morning was located in the artist’s home, at the time piped water and built-in concrete troughs were considered modern conveniences!

Location: Australian Art Collection, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Galleries (10-13)

R Godfrey Rivers Under the jacaranda 1903

R. Godfrey Rivers, England/Australia 1858-1925 / Under the jacaranda 1903 / Oil on canvas / 143.4 x 107.2 cm / Purchased 1903 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

R. Godfrey Rivers, England/Australia 1858-1925 / Under the jacaranda 1903 / Oil on canvas / 143.4 x 107.2 cm / Purchased 1903 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / View full image

Vida Lahey Monday morning 1912

Vida Lahey, Australia 1882–1968 / Monday morning 1912 / Oil on canvas / 153 x 122.7cm / Gift of Madame Emily Coungeau through the Queensland Art Society 1912 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA

Vida Lahey, Australia 1882–1968 / Monday morning 1912 / Oil on canvas / 153 x 122.7cm / Gift of Madame Emily Coungeau through the Queensland Art Society 1912 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © QAGOMA / View full image

Collection highlight: Contemporary Australian art

The jewellery-like intimacy of Fiona Hall’s Australian set (from ‘Paradisus Terrestris Entitled’ series) 1998–99 (illustrated) is a juxtaposition between culture and nature; human body parts combine with native botanical species, while Rosalie Gascoigne is best known for her wall-based assemblages, Lamp lit 1989 (illustrated) created from discarded road signs.

Interesting facts: Fiona Hall has transformed humble disposal sardine-tins by engraving, chasing and burnishing in the tradition of the colonial silversmith. ‘Lamp lit’ might suggest car headlights catching the road signs from which the work is made, but it also refers to the artist’s emotional response to a mass of brilliant yellow lantern-shaped flowers she encountered on the road to Bungendore in New South Wales, which inspired the work.

Location: Australian Art Collection, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Galleries (10-13)

Fiona Hall Australian set 1998–99

Fiona Hall, Australia b.1953 / Works from Australian set (from ‘Paradisus Terrestris Entitled’ series) 1998–99 / Aluminium and tin / Thirteen pieces: 28 x 18 x 4cm (each, approx.) / Purchased 2021. The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Charitable Trust / Collection: The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Charitable Trust, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Fiona Hall

Fiona Hall, Australia b.1953 / Works from Australian set (from ‘Paradisus Terrestris Entitled’ series) 1998–99 / Aluminium and tin / Thirteen pieces: 28 x 18 x 4cm (each, approx.) / Purchased 2021. The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Charitable Trust / Collection: The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Charitable Trust, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Fiona Hall / View full image

Rosalie Gascoigne Lamp lit 1989

Rosalie Gascoigne, Australia 1917–1999 / Lamp lit 1989 / Retro-reflective road signs on hardwood / 183 x 183cm / Purchased 1990. Mrs J R Lucas Estate in memory of her father John Robertson Blane / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Rosalie Gascoigne Estate

Rosalie Gascoigne, Australia 1917–1999 / Lamp lit 1989 / Retro-reflective road signs on hardwood / 183 x 183cm / Purchased 1990. Mrs J R Lucas Estate in memory of her father John Robertson Blane / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Rosalie Gascoigne Estate / View full image

Collection highlights: Indigenous Australian art

Artistic expressions from the world's oldest continuing culture are drawn from all regions of the country in the Gallery's holdings of Indigenous Australian artworks.

Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa was a well-known artist and respected Elder of Anmatyerre/Arrernte heritage. Goanna Story c.1973-74 (illustrated) is from one of the traditional dreaming stories, and this work shows four of the reptiles moving towards a waterhole. Walangkura Napanangka's Untitled (Tjintjintjin) 2006 (illustrated) depicts the rockhole and cave site of Tjintjintjin, to the west of Walungurra (Kintore) in Western Australia.

Interesting facts: Goanna Story has a strong sense of symmetry; one half is a mirror image of the other, while Tjintjintjin's symbols map out the area's geographical features, through which ancestor figure Kutungka Napanangka passed on her travels across the Gibson Desert during the creation time.

Location: Australian Art Collection, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Galleries (10-13)

Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa Goanna Story c.1973–74

Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa, Anmatyerre/Arrernte people, Australia c.1925–89 / Goanna Story c.1973–74 / Synthetic polymer paint on board / 76 x 60.2cm / Purchased 1996 with funds from National Australia Bank Limited through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa Estate/Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency

Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa, Anmatyerre/Arrernte people, Australia c.1925–89 / Goanna Story c.1973–74 / Synthetic polymer paint on board / 76 x 60.2cm / Purchased 1996 with funds from National Australia Bank Limited through the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa Estate/Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency / View full image

Walangkura Napanangka Untitled (Tjintjintjin) 2006

Walangkura Napanangka, Pintupi people, Australia c.1946–2014 / Untitled (Tjintjintjin) 2006 / Synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen / 183 x 244cm / Purchased 2008.The Queensland Government's GOMA Acquisitions Fund / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Walangkura Napanangka Estate

Walangkura Napanangka, Pintupi people, Australia c.1946–2014 / Untitled (Tjintjintjin) 2006 / Synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen / 183 x 244cm / Purchased 2008.The Queensland Government's GOMA Acquisitions Fund / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Walangkura Napanangka Estate / View full image

Collection highlights: International art

Surrounded by works from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (illustrated) and Edgar Degas (illustrated), La Belle Hollandaise (The beautiful Dutch girl) 1905 (illustrated) is a key painting that marks a transition from the subdued hues and emaciated figures of Pablo Picasso’s ‘blue period’ to the serenity and warmth of the ‘rose period’. Picasso must have been pleased with the result — he inscribed the work at the top left as a gift to Paco Durio, his dear friend and neighbour in the Parisian suburb of Montmartre.

Interesting fact: Pablo Picasso's La belle Hollandaise was donated to the Gallery in 1959; at the time this major work by one of the greatest living twentieth century masters; set a world record price at £55,000.

Location: International Art Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries (7-9)

Pablo Picasso La Belle Hollandaise 1905

Pablo Picasso, Spain 1881–1973 / La Belle Hollandaise 1905 / Gouache, oil and chalk on cardboard laid down on wood / Purchased 1959 with funds donated by Major Harold de Vahl Rubin / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / © Pablo Picasso/ Copyright Agency

Pablo Picasso, Spain 1881–1973 / La Belle Hollandaise 1905 / Gouache, oil and chalk on cardboard laid down on wood / Purchased 1959 with funds donated by Major Harold de Vahl Rubin / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / © Pablo Picasso/ Copyright Agency / View full image

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Tete de fille (Head of a girl) 1892

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, France 1864–1901 / Tete de fille (Head of a girl) 1892 / Oil on canvas / 27.3 x 23cm (oval) / Purchased 1959 with funds donated by Major Harold de Vahl Rubin / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, France 1864–1901 / Tete de fille (Head of a girl) 1892 / Oil on canvas / 27.3 x 23cm (oval) / Purchased 1959 with funds donated by Major Harold de Vahl Rubin / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / View full image

Edgar Degas Three dancers at a dance class c.1888-90

Edgar Degas, France 1834–1917 / Trois danseuses a la classe de danse (Three dancers at a dance class) c.1888-90 / Oil on cardboard / 50.5 x 60.6cm / Purchased 1959 with funds donated by Major Harold de Vahl Rubin / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Edgar Degas, France 1834–1917 / Trois danseuses a la classe de danse (Three dancers at a dance class) c.1888-90 / Oil on cardboard / 50.5 x 60.6cm / Purchased 1959 with funds donated by Major Harold de Vahl Rubin / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / View full image

Roy and Matilda

For those visiting with children of all ages, drop by the home of Roy and Matilda, two mice who one day decided to visit the Queensland Art Gallery, loved it so much, they decided to say. Just look for the letters 'R' and 'M' carved into their beautiful wooden front door.

Interesting fact: One day, a man who worked in the Galley’s workshop restoring and carving frames found they were living here and decided to make them a special little front door.

Location: Australian Art Collection, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Galleries (10-13)

Roy and Matilda’s front door in the Australian Art Collection

Roy and Matilda’s front door in the Australian Art Collection / View full image

Watermall & Sculpture Courtyard

The Queensland Art Gallery’s grand Watermall — a visitor favourite for both regular art lovers and tourists — extends far beyond the Gallery’s interior; past the Dandelion fountains (illustrated) through to the reflection pond and Sculpture Courtyard. Why not relax and enjoy a quiet moment of contemplation at the adjoining QAG Cafe.

Interesting facts: The Queensland Art Gallery was designed in harmony with the Brisbane River, receiving the prestigious Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture the year it opened, now protected after Queensland Heritage status.

Location: Queensland Art Gallery

The Queensland Art Gallery's Watermall extends far beyond the Gallery’s interior toward Robert Woodward's ‘Dandelion Fountains’ through to the Gallery’s Sculpture Courtyard reflection pond and waterfall adjoining the QAG Cafe.

The Queensland Art Gallery's Watermall extends far beyond the Gallery’s interior toward Robert Woodward's ‘Dandelion Fountains’ through to the Gallery’s Sculpture Courtyard reflection pond and waterfall adjoining the QAG Cafe. / View full image

Robert Woodward, Australia 1923–2010 / Dandelion Fountains 1982 viewed from the Queensland Art Gallery Sculpture Courtyard reflection pond and waterfall adjoining the QAG Cafe / 9 bronze fountains with brass pipes / Collection: ArtsWorks Queensland / © Robert Woodward Estate

Robert Woodward, Australia 1923–2010 / Dandelion Fountains 1982 viewed from the Queensland Art Gallery Sculpture Courtyard reflection pond and waterfall adjoining the QAG Cafe / 9 bronze fountains with brass pipes / Collection: ArtsWorks Queensland / © Robert Woodward Estate / View full image

Drawing from the Collection

Get creative with our free drawing materials. Grab a drawing board, paper and pencil, then take inspiration from art around you and draw from your favourite works.

Interesting fact: Take a photo of your work and share with us on social media @QAGOMA #MyDrawingQAG

Location: Queensland Art Gallery’s Australian and International Collections

Drawing from the Collection within the permanent Australian Art display / Photograph: K Bennett © QAGOMA

Drawing from the Collection within the permanent Australian Art display / Photograph: K Bennett © QAGOMA / View full image

Gallery of Modern Art

Our second site, the Gallery of Modern Art, located on Kurilpa Point — only 150 metres from the Queensland Art Gallery — opened in December 2006. The new building was more than double the Queensland Art Gallery’s size.

Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place entrance

Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place entrance / View full image

Sculpture walk

Ever wondered how many sculptures are surrounding the Gallery of Modern Art — here’s the five fascinating artworks by leading Australian and international artists; take some time for a delightful walk around the building to explore them all.

  • The High/ Perpetual Xmas, No Abstractions 2008 (illustrated) is a 10-metre high Gold Coast-style inspired signage sculpture by Scott Redford erected at the forecourt to the Gallery.
  • Outside the QAGOMA Store, the Bodhi Tree Project 2006 (illustrated) by Lee Mingwei is a living Bodhi tree with six marble seats that echo the sacred trees heart-shaped leaves, the installation is a focus for gathering and contemplation.
  • tow row 2016 (illustrated) is a cast bronze sculpture reimagination of a traditional fishing net used by Aboriginal people by Judy Watson at the entrance to the Gallery.
  • Michael Parekowhai’s bronze The World Turns 2011-12 (illustrated) is a five-metre high elephant accompanied by a nonchalant kuril that takes over the stretch of lawn between the Gallery and GOMA Bistro.
  • Three white coated aluminium Cubist inspired trees We are shipwrecked and landlocked 2008-10 (illustrated) by Martin Boyce are located at the gateway to the Kurilpa Bridge outside the western precinct of the Gallery.

Interesting fact: Since the Gallery of Modern Art opened, public art has gradually been commissioned to surround the site, complementing the five sculptures surrounding the Queensland Art Gallery.

Location: Surrounding the Gallery of Modern Art

Scott Redford The High/ Perpetual Xmas, No Abstractions 2008

Scott Redford, Australia b.1962 / The High/ Perpetual Xmas, No Abstractions 2008 / Brick, stone, steel, aluminium, 2-pack paint, acrylic, neon glass tube, fluorescent glass tube / 990 x 466 x 140cm (above-ground dimensions) / This project received financial assistance through Arts Queensland from art+place, the Queensland Government’s Public Arts Fund / Collection: ArtsWorks Queensland / © Scott Redford / Photographs: N Harth © QAGOMA

Scott Redford, Australia b.1962 / The High/ Perpetual Xmas, No Abstractions 2008 / Brick, stone, steel, aluminium, 2-pack paint, acrylic, neon glass tube, fluorescent glass tube / 990 x 466 x 140cm (above-ground dimensions) / This project received financial assistance through Arts Queensland from art+place, the Queensland Government’s Public Arts Fund / Collection: ArtsWorks Queensland / © Scott Redford / Photographs: N Harth © QAGOMA / View full image

Lee Mingwei Bodhi Tree Project 2006

The Bodhi Tree with six marble seats that echo the sacred trees heart-shaped leaves, Gallery of Modern Art / Photograph: Mark Sherwood © QAGOMA

The Bodhi Tree with six marble seats that echo the sacred trees heart-shaped leaves, Gallery of Modern Art / Photograph: Mark Sherwood © QAGOMA / View full image

Judy Watson tow row 2016

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / tow row 2016 / Bronze / 193 x 175 x 300cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2016 to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / tow row 2016 / Bronze / 193 x 175 x 300cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2016 to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson / View full image

Michael Parekowhai The World Turns 2011-12

Michael Parekowhai, Ngāti Whakarongo, New Zealand b.1968 / The World Turns 2011-12 / Bronze / 488 x 456 x 293cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2011 to mark the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art in 2006 and twenty years of The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art / This project has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through art+place Queensland Public Art Fund, and from the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Parekowhai

Michael Parekowhai, Ngāti Whakarongo, New Zealand b.1968 / The World Turns 2011-12 / Bronze / 488 x 456 x 293cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2011 to mark the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art in 2006 and twenty years of The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art / This project has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through art+place Queensland Public Art Fund, and from the QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Parekowhai / View full image

Martin Boyce We are shipwrecked and landlocked 2008-10

Martin Boyce, United Kingdom b.1967 / We are shipwrecked and landlocked 2008-10 installed at the Gallery of Modern Art, 2010 / Polyurethane on aluminium / Three elements: 770cm (high, each) / Gift of Kaldor Public Art Projects (Sydney), the artist and The Modern Institute (Glasgow) with financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland 2010 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Martin Boyce

Martin Boyce, United Kingdom b.1967 / We are shipwrecked and landlocked 2008-10 installed at the Gallery of Modern Art, 2010 / Polyurethane on aluminium / Three elements: 770cm (high, each) / Gift of Kaldor Public Art Projects (Sydney), the artist and The Modern Institute (Glasgow) with financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland 2010 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Martin Boyce / View full image

Children’s Art Centre

The Children’s Art Centre’s exhibitions and activities are created in collaboration with artists especially for children under six years of age.

Location: Gallery of Modern Art, Park level

Free cinema

The Australian Cinémathèque at GOMA provides an ongoing program of film and video that you're unlikely to see elsewhere. Search what weekend matinee is screening when you visit. GOMA is the only Australian art gallery with purpose-built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image, and hidden beneath the stage and only revealed for special screenings is our much-loved 1929 Wurlitzer Style 260 Opus 2040 Pipe Organ, its original home Brisbane’s Regent Theatre which opened in November 1929. Find out how it ended up at GOMA.

Location: Gallery of Modern Art, entrance level

Sunset viewing

Got an evening hour to spare? The Gallery of Modern Art’s Night Life 2018 (illustrated) is James Turrell’s architectural light work and the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. As the sky shifts to dusk, Night Life animates the Gallery in an ever-evolving pattern of intensifying and diffusing coloured light from within that envelops the building. This immersive artwork has found a place in the hearts and minds of countless Brisbane residents and tourists.

Interesting fact: Daily from sunset to midnight, the light sequence runs for 88 minutes.

Location: Gallery of Modern Art, east and north facades viewed from the Maiwar Green lawn

James Turrell Night Life 2018

James Turrell, United States b.1943 / Night Life 2018 / Architectural light installation / Commissioned 2017 to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government; Paul, Sue and Kate Taylor; the Neilson Foundation; and the QAGOMA Foundation Appeal / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © James Turrell / Photograph: Florian Holzherr © QAGOMA

James Turrell, United States b.1943 / Night Life 2018 / Architectural light installation / Commissioned 2017 to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government; Paul, Sue and Kate Taylor; the Neilson Foundation; and the QAGOMA Foundation Appeal / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © James Turrell / Photograph: Florian Holzherr © QAGOMA / View full image

James Turrell, United States b.1943 / Night Life 2018 / Architectural light installation (exterior) / Commissioned 2017 to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government; Paul, Sue and Kate Taylor; the Neilson Foundation; and the QAGOMA Foundation Appeal / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © James Turrell / Photograph: F Holzherr © QAGOMA

James Turrell, United States b.1943 / Night Life 2018 / Architectural light installation (exterior) / Commissioned 2017 to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government; Paul, Sue and Kate Taylor; the Neilson Foundation; and the QAGOMA Foundation Appeal / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © James Turrell / Photograph: F Holzherr © QAGOMA / View full image

If you still can’t decide what to do, then let our Volunteer Guides make it easy for you with one of of our free guided tours. These take place in both Gallery’s on most days, lasting 30-40 minutes. Here’s the link to the QAGOMA Events Calendar for tour times.

While you’re here, why not pop-in to one of the three QAGOMA Stores packed with inspiring books, stylish accessories, designer homewares and cultural curios to take home.

And, if you work up an appetite on your visit, enjoy a bite to eat at one of our cafes and make the most of Brisbane’s subtropical climate and our riverside location.

We look forward to welcoming you to QAGOMA. Enjoy your visit!

The Gallery of Modern Art and GOMA Bistro boasts a genuine riverfront location just a short walk from Brisbane's CBD / Photograph: N Harth © QAGOMA

The Gallery of Modern Art and GOMA Bistro boasts a genuine riverfront location just a short walk from Brisbane's CBD / Photograph: N Harth © QAGOMA / View full image

Elliott Murray is Senior Digital Marketing Officer, QAGOMA

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA)

Our two galleries are a short walk from the city and adjacent to South Bank Parklands, and only 150 metres apart. QAG's riverfront entry is near Melbourne St and Victoria Bridge, and both buildings have an entrance from Stanley Place.

Parking for the Cultural Precinct is available in two neighbouring carparks under the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and State Library of Queensland (SLQ), both accessible via Stanley Place.

QAGOMA is right next to the Cultural Centre Busway station and a short walk from the South Brisbane train station and the South Bank CityCat and Ferry terminal.

Daily: 10.00 am – 5.00 pm
Open from 12 noon Anzac Day
Closed Good Friday, Christmas Day & Boxing Day

Related Stories

  • Read

    Lisa Reihana ‘in Pursuit of Venus [infected]’ 2015 | Foundation Appeal

    Filling the intimate space of Gallery 6 of the Queensland Art Gallery, the compelling soundscape of the QAGOMA Foundation’s 2015 Appeal artwork beckons. Lisa Reihana’s in Pursuit of Venus [infected] 2015 heralds visitors into a dynamic space which re-examines the story of Pacific exploration and encounter. This new perspective excites the imagination, populating this history with living, breathing peoples and their culture. Reihana’s work is familiar to the Gallery, having featured in the ‘The 2nd Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT2) 1996–97, ‘The 4th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT4) 2002-03 and Maud Page’s New Zealand collection survey ‘Unnerved’ (2010). A striking detail from her ‘Digital Marae’ series also currently flies on banners facing the Brisbane River outside the Queensland Art Gallery building. Further afield, Reihana’s work has been shown in the Sydney Biennale and in Singapore, New York, Toronto, Paris, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Taiwan and Rome. Acclaimed as one of the most accomplished multimedia artists of her generation, it is no surprise that Reihana’s most recent and ambitious work is one of artistic and technical mastery. Such terms, however do not describe how warm and wondrous this work is. Upon entering the space where in Pursuit of Venus [infected] pans in Ultra High Definition across four widescreens, it is impossible not to be drawn into the work’s complex layers of embodied narrative, sound and movement, to become engaged with the characters and their experience. As the structure for her 32-minute video work, Reihana takes an immensely popular early nineteenth century European artefact, the expansive panoramic wallpaper Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique (c.1804) designed by Jean-Gabriel Charvet for French entrepreneur Joseph Dufour. Dufour’s wallpaper was the largest of its time, stretching over 10 metres in length and some 2.5 metres high in twenty separate ‘drops’ or panels. Designed to completely encase a room, Les Sauvages transformed the room of a wealthy European or American estate into a Tahitian idyll, replete with Indigenous peoples in the midst of celebrations or preoccupied with the rhythms of everyday life. Some of Charvet and Dufour’s inspirations are immediately apparent and, moreover, explicitly documented in Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique, tableau pour decoration en papier peint, Dufour’s prospectus for the wallpaper which was published before its manufacture. Charvet extracted scenes of indigenous life and narratives of encounter from the records and journals of explorers such as James Cook and Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, situating clusters of detailed figures within a vivid and lush landscape of exotic flora and fauna. The wallpaper’s figures, set in familiar Hellenic poses and outfitted in Grecian drapery, followed a widely-favoured neoclassical style that echoed Roman murals then being unearthed in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Popular Enlightenment thought espoused by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other writers of the time situated the indigenous communities in Les Sauvages within the utopian environment of the dusky maiden and noble savagery. In a conversation with QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM and Maud Page, Deputy Director, Collection and Exhibitions, Lisa Reihana recalls being shocked on first seeing the wallpaper on display at the National Gallery of Australia: ‘I couldn’t see anything that I recognised.’ Inspired to bring the wallpaper ‘to life’ and invest Les Sauvages with more complex understandings of indigenous culture at the moment of their encounter with an outside world, Reihana launched a monumental six-year project of painstaking research, planning and technical design. The result, in Pursuit of Venus [infected], recodes Dufour and Charvet’s wallpaper, reclaiming the identities of both its ‘noble savages’ and European colonists through the use of digital technologies within a carefully rendered landscape that recreates Charvet’s original bright aesthetic. Over 65 vignettes incorporate performances of dance, ceremony and history from across the Pacific through a contemporary lens. Reihana casts graduates from Pacific Institute Performing Arts (PIPA), Auckland, and from across Pacific communities. Careful, collaborative attention to clothing, tattoos, choreography and scripting asserts each character in her work with undeniable liveliness. Reihana reflects: As a filmmaker, the value that you bring to the work is just to re-enact it, and to show it again, so that we can decide how we think about these things. That’s what I want to bring to the audience. You become the witness. You become the person on the land looking out and seeing these things happen. … Imagine what people felt. in Pursuit of Venus [infected] had its Australian premiere at the Queensland Art Gallery on 9 May, where it was revealed as the subject of the 2015 QAGOMA Foundation Appeal. Director Chris Saines, introducing Lisa Reihana as the evening’s special guest, situated the work in its contemporary context: For me, it is already among the most art historically and culturally well-informed multimedia works that I have encountered. I have no doubt that it will stand among the most visually and conceptually sophisticated works of its time. The launch of the 2015 Appeal saw Foundation members, donors and guests captivated as Reihana’s work panned beautifully across the screens. To close the fascinating in-conversation session Reihana invited everyone to join in a stanza of the traditional Scottish ode to departures and returns, ‘My bonnie lies over the ocean’, a song which resonated hauntingly with the remarkable, immersive experience of in Pursuit of Venus [infected] at the Gallery. To support the 2015 QAGOMA Foundation Appeal or for more information, visit the Appeal webpage. Contributions of all sizes are welcome and those over $2 are tax deductible. Contributions of $4000 or more qualify donors for Foundation membership and support from existing Foundation members will be credited to their memberships. For further news and information about the 2015 Appeal, including footage of Lisa Reihana’s exclusive in-conversation session during the Appeal launch, stay tuned to the blog.
  • Read

    in Pursuit of Venus [infected] | An interview with Lisa Reihana

    New Zealand-born artist Lisa Reihana’s in Pursuit of Venus [infected] is the subject of the Foundation’s 2015 Appeal. Gallery curator Ruth McDougall spoke to the artist about the work and the inspiration behind it. Ruth McDougall (RM) You were a member of the influential 1990’s performance group Pacific Sisters. Performance, and particularly the performance of a contemporary Pacifica identity, was important in the work of a number of New Zealand-born artists during this period. Can you talk about this period? Lisa Reihana (LR) Pacific Sisters founding members were Selina Forsyth, Niwhai Tupaea and Suzanne Tamaki. My introduction was via Selina, who was a pattern cutter and seamstress for the Mercury Theatre. We were all based in inner-city Auckland and worked in creative fields, and the Sisters formed at an exciting time — part of a movement reinventing ‘urban indigenous’. Many of us hailed from mixed-up ancestry, and this was a safe place to compare notes on such things as Pacific history, sewing and handcraft skills. Working with the Sisters offered kinship in its collaborative approach and shared learning — beauty and brains. Rosanna Raymond and Suzanne Tamaki were young mothers, so besides the sharing of cultural knowledge, we shared childcare — there was much laughter, love and yummy food. And of course everyone was gorgeous and proud of their DNA. There were male ‘sisters’ too, marvelous musicians such as Henry Taripo, Karlos Quartez, Brother J — sexy, groovy and loud, you couldn’t help but notice when the Pacific Sisters arrived. Our contemporary approach wasn’t always acceptable as we challenged tradition, spun yarns and busted open notions surrounding what Māori and Pacific practice could be. RM What was it about the Dufour wallpaper Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique c.1804 in particular that inspired you to use it as the trigger for this work? LR I was at Hyde Park Art Centre, in Chicago taking part in the Close Encounters project. Within HPAC is the Jackman Goldwasser Gallery with 10 videowhich projectors create a 10 x 80 inch panoramic screen. As a multi-channelfilmmaker I so wanted to make something for that space. The gallery has itsown unique challenges and technical characteristics; it’s able to be seen bothday and night, as well as close-up or at a distance from across the road. Sowhen I was searching around for ideas that would suit the set-up, I recalledJames [Pinker] introducing me to Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique on showat the NGA in Canberra . . . Hyde Park’s video gallery suddenly made bringingthe panoramic wallpaper to life seem possible. I could see the potential, andhave spent the last six years bringing that vision to life. I wanted to . . . present real Pacific peoplesengaged in their own ceremonies — herewe are . . . living, breathing and beautiful. RM The use of performance continues to play a key role in your work and in your newest four-channel video in Pursuit of Venus [infected] 2015 it is the mechanism used animate nineteenth century representations of Pacific peoples, allowing contemporary descendants to speak back. Can you talk a little bit about the types of representation you are responding to in this work? LR Les Sauvages claimed to represent indigenous peoples, but like many things, it is a mirror of its time. Entrepreneur Dufour accompanied the wallpaper with a prospectus that included some very disparaging remarks about some races. The characters clothing was influenced by the discovery of Pompeii — hence their dress of wrapped tapa and feather bindings has strange approximations that are more like togas with ribbon detailing. I wanted to re-animate the wallpaper to present real Pacific peoples engaged in their own ceremonies — here we are . . . living breathing and beautiful. Not only is there a shift in the representation of the indigenous peoples, but the background moves too, it is a mesmeric slow pan that shifts the very ground, destabilising the foundation it is based upon. And as a viewer, you are posited as tangata whenua — the local people, so in Pursuit of Venus [infected] allows you to stand for a while in someone else’s shoes — the original land owners or the harbingers of colonisation. Like any business or organisation, this project has an acronym, too: In filmic terms, ‘POV’ is the shortened form of ‘point of view’ . . . and these slippery notions take place throughout the video work. RM You have in the past been described as a story teller. What are the stories that you want to share with audiences of in Pursuit of Venus [infected] 2015? LR I scoured Anne Salmond’s The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook’s Encounters in the South Seas (2003) and NickThomas’s Cook: The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain Cook (2004), wonderingdeeply about the encounters between peoples of different geographies andcultures. The value of re-enactment is to physically see it, and as a filmmakerthis is something I am able to do. When iPOV is projected, the scale brings animmediacy to history — it’s no longer a line on a page but something embodiedand visceral. As there is little dialogue in the work, the audience mustdecipher what’s going on, much like the historical characters as they livedthrough these cross cultural communications and miscommunications. I’mof mixed descent and am the camera on the shore and the explorer, witnessto the events and daughter of the oppressed and oppressor. Sometimesit’s the smaller details that grab me. In thinking about early tattoo culture,such famous symbols like anchors were tattooed on European bodies by theTahitian Arioi; and artists made their own relationships without the safetynet of armed Marines by their side. There are over 65 vignettes in this work,hopefully everyone in the audience will have something they can relate to,ponder on or at least be left with a sense of wonder.
Loading...