Works by Gordon Bennett and Mia Boe are included in the group exhibition Blak In-Justice: Incarceration and Resilience at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
Prominent works by both artists, including Bennett’s Freedom Fighters (1989, courtesy of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth) and Bloodlines (1993, courtesy of the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane) and Boe’s Boundary Street and Mandatory Health Assessment from the series For the Angels in Paradise (2023), are included in this prescient show. Aiming to make an important and engaging contribution to the public discourse about First Nations injustice and the power of cultural practices, the exhibition additionally highlights the vital role of art in First Nations communities and broader Australian society as a catalyst of raising awareness, sharing stories and creating change.
Curated by Kent Morris (Barkindji artist, curator and Creative Director of The Torch), the exhibition presents works by leading First Nations artists including Vernon Ah Kee, Destiny Deacon, Julie Dowling, Jimmy Pike and Judy Watson that address the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system and the crisis of deaths in custody. Their powerful responses are shown alongside the remarkable creative achievements of former and current prison inmates, many of whom have connected with their culture and Country through The Torch program, such as Thelma Beeton, Stacey Edwards, Robby Wirramanda and Sean Miller.
Blak In-Justice: Incarceration and Resilience
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
5 April – 20 July 2025