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Judy Watson & Helen Johnson

the red thread of history, loose ends

Touring Exhibition
Monash University Museum of Art Caulfield, VIC
10 Sep – 12 Nov 2022
Colourful  and washed out colonial figures fill the scene, holding flags, gesticulating - they are transposed over a map. There is a small black and white figure of a thief making a getaway with his sack in the bottom right hand corner.

Helen Johnson, A feast of reason and a flow of soul, 2016, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and Tate, with support from the Qantas Foundation in 2015, purchased 2018, courtesy the artist.

‘It is that idea of breaking through and peeling back ignorance, looking at concealed history, at what lies beneath the ground; bringing that up to the viewer.’ 

Judy Watson, Waanyi people

  • About
  • Touring Dates
  • Stories & Ideas
  • On Demand

About


A work on paper, a map outline of Queensland with the outline of the profile of a woman's head overlayed

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, joyce with queensland tenure map, 2021, Commissioned as part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series, © Judy Watson/Copyright Agency

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.

Supported by

  • The Balnaves Foundation

    Visit the website for The Balnaves Foundation

Touring Dates & Venues


2022

  • Monash University Museum of Art Caulfield, VIC
    10 September – 12 November 2022
  • Museum of Art and Culture, yapang, NSW
    27 May – 28 August 2023

Stories & Ideas


Two women sit on a timber bench, within a gallery space, surrounded by paintings and work of art suspended from the ceiling and walls

Two artists, two generations, two perspectives: Judy Watson, Waanyi people, and Helen Johnson have forged a dialogue on the roles of women in contemporary and colonial Australia, presented as part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series at the National Gallery.

By Tina Baum

Read Now

On Demand


  • Talks & Lectures /  Video

    Judy Watson & Helen Johnson In Conversation
    Reconciliation Week

    Two women sit on a timber bench, within a gallery space, surrounded by paintings and work of art suspended from the ceiling and walls

    Published 02 June 2022

    Hear how artists Judy Watson, Waanyi people, and Helen Johnson have forged a dialogue on the roles of women in contemporary and colonial Australia.

    Audio Tour Auslan Interpretation Open Captioning
    1 hour, 3 minutes

Related


Exhibition

Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now
Part 2

Installation photograph of Know My Name exhibition galleries featuring a herd of black sculptures, a white large high bed sculpture and a metal sculpture hanging on the wall in the background showing the phases of the moon.

14 Nov 2020 – 26 Jun 2022

Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now showcases art made by women from the National Gallery’s collection and loans from across Australia.

The Balnaves Contemporary Series

Photo of a woman standing inside a hot air balloon

Launched in 2018, the Balnaves Contemporary Series is a commissioning platform that enables leading artists to create innovative new work.

Australian Art

Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now

Painting of woman drawing on a bathroom mirror with red lipstick

This learning resource encourages students to draw inspiration from the work of Australian women artists.

Know My Name

In a large galley space a woman examines a wall of framed and bright posters

Know My Name celebrates the work of all women artists with an aim to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life.

Touring Exhibition

Jess Johnson & Simon Ward: Terminus

On Tour
Coloured-pencil and pen drawing of alien architecture, symbols and figures

Hazelhurst Arts Centre, Sydney NSW
25 June – 28 August 2022

The Balnaves Contemporary Series

Daniel Crooks: Structured light
Enlighten Festival

Colourful geometric work of art created in light is projected onto the brutalist concrete architecture of the National Gallery

4–14 Mar 2022, 8–11pm

Naarm/Melbourne based artist Daniel Crooks has been commissioned to illuminate the National Gallery’s façade for the 2022 Enlighten Festival.

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