Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends
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Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
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‘In a way we are putting those loose threads out and hoping the audience will travel across and meet us in the middle.’
Work by two of Australia’s leading artists – Judy Watson and Helen Johnson – will be presented in conversation as part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series.
Watson, a Waanyi woman, based on Jagera/Yuggera and Turrbal Country of Meanjin/Brisbane and Johnson, a second-generation immigrant of Anglo descent based in Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country in Naarm/Melbourne, have each developed new works that explore complex and varied perspectives on colonisation, with an emphasis on the experience of women. This conversation will be reflected by Watson and Johnson’s individual and Ancestral cultural experiences living in Australia.
Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends is a Know My Name project and part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series.
Curators: Jaklyn Babington, formerly Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, Tina Baum, Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples, Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Elspeth Pitt, Curator, Australian Art.
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Judy Watson, Waanyi people, rani with freshwater mussel shells (malu malu) and hoop pine, 2021, commissioned as part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series, © Judy Watson/Copyright Agency
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Helen Johnson, Crises, 2021–22, synthetic polymer paint and pencil on unstretched canvas. Commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation 2021–22 Courtesy the artist and Sutton Gallery, Naarm/Melbourne © Helen Johnson
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Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/mHIz7TYlq0wYcxyAgTIdrB2XnCw=/adaptive-fit-in/800x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/20220221_Judy_Watson_and_Helen_Johnson_Exhibition_Installs_0002.jpg)
Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/psOrg9QKWZOq8Oe_tvdm-pOd8qw=/adaptive-fit-in/800x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/20220221_Judy_Watson_and_Helen_Johnson_Exhibition_Installs_0003.jpg)
Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/DeEL0rvOqmdVjdDYeuANaZj-dM4=/adaptive-fit-in/800x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/20220221_Judy_Watson_and_Helen_Johnson_Exhibition_Installs_0006.jpg)
Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/aWD63Dx3CyKPOU6wUbc5o1x5IWE=/adaptive-fit-in/800x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/20220221_Judy_Watson_and_Helen_Johnson_Exhibition_Installs_0007.jpg)
Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/1zfsZJwrnDhWoI3j33Zk_0-Vn-8=/adaptive-fit-in/800x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/JUDY_WATSON__HELEN_JOHNSON_the_red_thread_of_history_loose_ends_0001.jpg)
Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/SnJyYEG7-5RGUwTsI6qaNrzwvO4=/adaptive-fit-in/800x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/JUDY_WATSON__HELEN_JOHNSON_the_red_thread_of_history_loose_ends_0003.jpg)
Installation view, Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022.
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Artists Helen Johnson and Judy Watson, Waanyi people in Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends at the National Gallery.
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(from left) Artists Helen Johnson and Judy Watson, Waanyi people pictured with (Back row) Elspeth Pitt, Senior Curator, Australian Art and Tina Baum, Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art