30 June 2010
Legendary Aboriginal artist at RMIT
Destiny Deacon – bringing her legendary art and experience to RMIT.
Destiny Deacon, Look Out!, 2009
'The offender visits city hotels for the purpose of meeting others of his own type + takes them to his home.'
Inkjet print from digital image on archival paper
81 x 105 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.
Destiny Deacon, Fence sitters (A), 2007
Lightjet print from Polaroid original
80 x 100 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.
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RMIT University has hosted an internationally renowned Aboriginal artist, Destiny Deacon, through an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program at the School of Art.
During her four-week residency, Ms Deacon developed a body of work that will be exhibited in the School’s Spare Room Gallery from August to September.
Head, School of Art, Professor Elizabeth Grierson, said Destiny Deacon was one of Australia’s best known artists.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Destiny Deacon as an Artist in Residence, an Aboriginal woman whose work speaks to us across social, cultural and political terrains," she said.
"Through her work we rethink our public and personal relationships to place, time, gender, politics and belonging."
Ms Deacon is an artist, photographer, performer, video-maker, writer and broadcaster.
She was born of K’ua K’ua (Far-North Queensland) and Erub/Mer (Torres Strait) peoples in Queensland, but was raised in and lives in Melbourne.
Her extensive body of work across a range of media has been featured and exhibited all over Australia and around the world including Austria, Cuba, Tokyo and New Zealand.
Ms Deacon’s art revolves around her house, its everyday objects and a common shared domestic life. Made in the confines of her studio home, her photographs record a form of grim but witty Indigenous family life.
"Her work is rooted in the racial politics of a postcolonial society," Professor Grierson said.
"She is something of a legend in this country and many years ago, before coming to Australia, I used to bring the filmic work of Destiny Deacon to students in art history lectures.
"Now, through this residency, students in the School of Art have been able to work first hand with Destiny and I thank her for her willingness to share her expertise and experience with them."
The AIR program gives staff and students at RMIT connections to the larger arts industry. Artists are usually from a different background or culture and offer a different perspective on art, which often results in exciting cross-pollination of ideas and forms.
During her residency at RMIT, Ms Deacon gave lectures to School of Art students, conducted tutorials and visited the Koori art program at Bundoora campus.
She also worked collaboratively with Melbourne artist Virginia Fraser. Ms Deacon and Ms Fraser have worked together on a number of occasions: both artists were represented in the 2008 Sydney Biennale with a collaborative work.
Funding for Ms Deacon’s Artist-in-Residence came from the College of Design and Social Context and RMIT’s Design Research Institute and was also raised at Out of Order, an event showcasing video, film and music earlier this year. Out of Order was developed by RMIT’s School of Art and The Order of Melbourne club.
