Art Wrap: Six Exhibitions To See in Melbourne This Winter

There’s a lot to discover inside Melbourne art galleries and museums right now, such as 500 objects on display in the single largest ancient Egyptian exhibition to take place in Australia. There’s also an entire exhibition on the power and significance of hair; a showcase of Indigenous Australian artists on the rise; a musing on growing up as a child of Chinese restaurant owners; ambitious artworks from seven emerging and mid-career artists; and a presentation of groundbreaking artists William Yang, Destiny Deacon and Cosey Fanni Tutti.

My Country, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

The Country Road & NGV First Nations Commissions pairs emerging Indigenous artists and designers with one of eight esteemed industry mentors. This year, each artist was asked to respond to the theme of “My Country”. In this free exhibition you can see an installation of 16 individual diamond-shaped shields by Canberra-based artist and Walgalu and Wiradjuri man Aidan Hartshorn. And three woven rugs by Gamilaroi weaver and textile artist Sophie Honess. There are also two large collaborative paintings titled Ngura (Country) by Alec Baker and Eric Barney, from Indulkana in the APY Lands, who were mentored by Vincent Namatjira OAM.
Until August 4. Free.

Pharaoh, NGV International

Pharaoh is the largest international exhibition the British Museum has ever presented in its 270-year history. With many works on display in Australia for the very first time, this Melbourne-exclusive presentation spans from the First Dynasty (the earliest object in the exhibition dates back to around 3000 BCE) to the Roman period (31 BC to CE 476). It explores the fascinating lives, myths and images of the successive rulers of ancient Egypt through art, design and architecture. There are around 500 objects on display, some of which were commissioned by ancient Egypt’s most famous kings and queens, including Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Queen Nefertari.
Until October 6. $38

Future Remains: The 2024 Macfarlane Commissions, ACCA

Over the past four years the Macfarlane Fund has enabled Australian Centre For Contemporary Art (ACCA) to commission new works from seven emerging and mid-career artists across Australia. Future Remains brings together works by Kim Ah Sam, Andy Butler, Teelah George, Alexandra Peters, Joel Sherwood Spring, Nicholas Smith and Salote Tawale. Their works are individually playful, poetic and bitingly satirical. Wiradjuri artist Joel Sherwood Spring uses AI and gaming technology to satirise historical Indigenous stereotypes and envision alternative futures. Andy Butler’s three-channel video shows Asian Australian actors recreating scenes from golden age films. Collectively the artworks reference pop culture, contemporary history and ecology, in media as diverse as ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, video and textiles.
Until September 1. Free.

Chinese Restaurant Playground, Footscray Community Arts

Emerging artist Steffie Yee presents an exhibition about youth, beauty and dumplings at Footscray Community Arts, based on her experience growing up around her parents’ Chinese restaurant in regional NSW town Branxton. Chinese Restaurant Playground contains multilingual animations, video illustrations and photographs in an exhibition that shows the diversity of Australia and, in the artist’s words, “humanise[s] the people behind the local Chinese restaurant”. It’s partly a documentation of her memories, and partly the outcome of a residency with the centre, which supports independent artists.
Until September 15. Free.

Hair Pieces, Heide Museum of Modern Art

Hair can communicate so much. It’s symbolic and complex, both as an expression of creativity and as a tie to one’s community. This exhibition at Heide brings together artworks by 38 artists all responding to the power of hair. It features artists as famous as Marina Abramovic and Ulay, who spent 17 hours with their hair entwined for performance Relation in Time. There’s also Georgia Banks, who has created a giant ball of hair from her own daily shedding. Other artists featured include Julie Rrap, SJ Norman, Christian Thompson, Patricia Piccinini and Polly Borland. The show features video, sculpture, painting and photography.
Until October 6. Included in museum admission, $25.

Octopus 24: Ricochet, Gertrude Contemporary

Three groundbreaking artists – visual artist Destiny Deacon (who passed away in May this year), photographer William Yang and performance artist Cosey Fanni Tutti – are the centre of this exhibition. Curator Patrice Sharkey has presented selected works by Deacon, Yang and Tutti that show their ability to blend autobiography and performance alongside new commissions by South Australia-based artists Chelsea Farquhar, Dominic Guerrera (Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri) and Truc Truong. It’s about one generation paving the way for another. There’s text scrawled along the gallery walls, spiky headgear and photos hanging from chains. And a striking sculpture made of plush toys such as Peppa Pig and Elmo.
Until August 4. Free.

Additional reporting by Gideon Cohen and Emma Joyce.