Kate Beynon and Rali Beynon KB X RB—Mask Spirits

9 April –
14 May 2022

Kate Beynon and Rali Beynon

Bat Queen Mask

, 2022
Watercolour, metallic pigment and pencil on cotton rag
18 x 14cm

KB X RB—Mask Spirits is a collaborative project by Kate Beynon and Rali Beynon.

Together, the mother and son pair have created a series of 46 intricately drawn and colourfully painted works, informed by their mixed cultural identities, auspicious imagery, and the power of storytelling. Referencing supernatural figures, shapeshifters, mythical creatures, ancient and futuristic characters, film, fashion and animation, each mask is infused with symbolism and personality that range from protective and mischievous to defiant. Collectively, the Mask Spirits form a festive gathering, a shared experience of shifting transformative figures, exuding an inward and outward talismanic presence.

Kate Beynon and Rali Beynon / Acknowledgement of Country: We acknowledge and pay respect to the Woiwurrung Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nations, traditional Owners and Elders, past, present and emerging, on whose Country we live, work and create. We reflect on connections to our multicoloured family and ancestors—including Cantonese-Malaysian, Afro-Caribbean, First Nations Pima Mexican, Māori, Celtic/Welsh, Nordic and more—of complex migration and settling, in hope of kindred spirits and allies coming together. We are grateful to be on Kulin Country where sovereignty has never been ceded. We recognise that this Always Was and Always Will Be Aboriginal Land, and in solidarity we acknowledge all First Nations Peoples worldwide.

Rali Beynon: Born Naarm/Melbourne, 1999. Lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne.

Selected group exhibitions: TudoKB Art X Fashion, Melbourne Fashion Festival, 2022; Creature Feature, Melbourne Art Fair Precinct Night, Collingwood Yards; TudoFAM, Collingwood Yards, 2021; Crusher: Up in Frames: RMIT Animation Showcase, RMIT University, 2021; Bus Projects online fundraiser, Bus Projects, 2021. Selected collaborations: Animated Projections: Guardian Creatures Yards 2022 edit, with Kate Beynon and Michael Pablo, Centre for Projection Art; Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Collingwood Yards, Melbourne; Guardian Creatures Art Boxes, with Kate Beynon and Michael Pablo, commissioned by Student One for the Elizabeth Arcade, Arkhefield Architects and Creative Move, Meanjin/Brisbane, 2020.

Kate Beynon: Born Hong Kong. Arrived 1974, Australia. Lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne.

Selected solo exhibitions: Collection leads: Kate Beynon—kindred spirits, Geelong Gallery, Geelong, Victoria, 2020; Anatomical, Botanical, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne, 2018; Kate Beynon: Room of Lucky Charms, Jackson Bella Room Commission, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2017; Kate Beynon: Friendly Beasts, Children’s Art Centre, QAGOMA, Brisbane, 2017; An-Li: A Chinese Ghost Tale, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, 2015; Auspicious Charms for Transcultural Living, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2008. Select group exhibitions: Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery NSW and touring 2022; Who Are You: Australian Portraiture, NGV, Victoria, 2022; Connecting the World Through Sculpture: In the Air, MUMA, Monash University, Melbourne, 2021; Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2020; Infinite Conversations, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2018.