Didn’t make it to this year’s Venice Biennale? Me neither. The invitation must have got lost in the post. Not to worry, though, because we will see Queensland artist Archie Moore’s feted installation work kith and kin in Brisbane next year.
Awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the La Biennale de Venezia 2024, the Australian Government has acquired the work, which was commissioned by Creative Australia and curated by QAGOMA’s Ellie Buttrose.
kith and kin is to be gifted to the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane and its acquisition partner the Tate, in the UK. These two leading art museums will ensure its enduring legacy on the global stage.
In kith and kin, Moore (who lives on Brisbane’s bayside) charts his First Nations Australian connections spanning more than 2400 generations and 65,000 years in a vast hand-drawn genealogical chart.
As a memorial it confronts how the ongoing legacies of Australia’s colonial history – with a focus on the overincarceration of First Nations peoples – sever familial connections. kith and kin represents the expansiveness of First Nations Australian history while speaking to the universality of the human family.
QAGOMA and the Tate’s connection with kith and kin is implied by the artwork itself following maternal First Nations (Kamilaroi/Bigambul) and paternal convict (British/Scottish) lines along a complex terrain that defines and connects Australia and the United Kingdom as nations.
The gift of kith and kin to these public art museums ensures the act of First Nations truth-telling that kith and kin forcefully and poetically presents will remain on a global platform, continuing to increase international awareness of Australia’s first histories, languages and cultures and foster action for the issues facing First Nations Australians.
Following its display at the Australia Pavilion in Venice, kith and kin will be presented at QAGOMA from August 2025.
Commenting on the good news, Moore says he is “so grateful for this generous donation that enables kith and kin to be seen both here in Australia and overseas, in the near and distant future”.
Federal Minister for the Arts Tony Burke says “kith and kin is a great Australian story first exhibited in Venice, but now comes home”.
QAGOMA director Chris Saines says “encountering Archie Moore’s kith and kin at the Venice Biennale was a spectacular and moving experience that resonated with the weight of history and ancestry”.
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“In its unimaginable endeavour to map a personal genealogy through more than 2000 generations, Moore has summoned up an extraordinary image of human connection through deep time,” Saines says. “kith and kin has that rare power to still you into silence and reflection. We are profoundly grateful to be the joint custodians of this historic work and we look forward to showing the project, curated by QAGOMA’s curator of contemporary Australian art Ellie Buttrose, in Brisbane from August 2025.”
State Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch says “the recognition of Archie Moore’s work at this year’s Venice Biennale has highlighted the powerful stories and creative talent of First Nations artists in Australia, and the country’s leadership on the global contemporary art scene”.
“The Queensland Government is thrilled that kith and kin will be part of the state’s art collection, “ adds Enoch.
kith and kin can be seen in the Australia Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia until November 24 and at QAGOMA from August 2025.
creative.com.au
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