Christian Thompson

In the series Australian Graffiti, Christian Thompson photographs himself wearing sculptural wreaths and headpieces that are made entirely of Australian native flowers, playing with the double-hinged designation “Australian Native.” This term once encompassed both Indigenous people and the flora and fauna of Australia, and Thompson’s work speaks to the history of referring to Indigenous people under the Commonwealth’s Flora and Fauna Act. Although deeply critical of these dehumanizing classifications, Thompson nevertheless acknowledges an affinity with these flowers, and the series suggests a deeply symbiotic and sensorial, rather than fraught or competitive, relationship. As insignia of Australia, these flowers are used on the national coat of arms, as emblems of states and territories, and to celebrate the centenary of federation. Thompson’s photographs, however, refuse to be co-opted as colonial trophies and rearticulate the flowers’ central associations with Indigenous ways of caring for the land.

Dr Christian Thompson AO is an Australian born contemporary artist whose work explores notions of identity, cultural hybridity & history. Formally trained as a sculptor, Thompson’s multidisciplinary practice engages mediums such as photography, video, sculpture, performance & sound. His work focuses on the exploration of identity, sexuality, gender, race and memory. In his live performances and conceptual portraits he inhabits a range of personas achieved through handcrafted costumes & carefully orchestrated poses & backdrops.

Thompson holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (Fine Art), Trinity College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, Master of Theatre, Amsterdam School of Arts, Das Arts, The Netherlands, Masters of Fine Art (Sculpture) the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) and Honours (Sculpture) RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. His works are held in major international and national collections. In 2018 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the visual arts as a sculptor, photographer, video and performance artist, and as a role model for young Indigenous artists.

Thompson has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, having been included in exhibitions such as ‘Australia’ at the Royal Academy for the Arts, London, ‘We Bury Our Own’, The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, Valencian Institute of Modern Art, Valencia, Spain, ‘The Other and Me’, The Sharjah Museum, United Arab Emirates, ‘Hijacked III’, QUOD Gallery, Derby, United Kingdom. ‘Shadow life’ Bangkok Art and Cultural centre, Bangkok, Thailand. ‘The beauty of Distance/ Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age’, 17th Biennale of Sydney.