Nuclear (R)Age: The Bomb in Australian Art
Dates:
14 July – 21 August 1993
Artists:
Charles Anderson, Arthur Boyd, David Boyd, Peter Burgess, James Cant, Bob Clutterbuck, Peter Cole, Tony Coleing, Noel Counihan, Virginia Coventry, Pam Debenham, Mark Denton and Fiona Somerville, Stella Dilger, Ivan Durrant, Merilyn Fairskye, Ivor Francis, Weaver Hawkins, Andrew Hill, Ian Howard, John Howley, Jonathan Kamantjara-Brown, David Kerr, Peter Lyssiotis, Erica McGilchrist, Bea Maddock, Denis Mizzi, Nicholas Nedelkopoulos, Ann Newmarch, Peter Nicholson, Ti Parks, John Perceval, Chris Reidy, Peter Robertson, Toni Robertson, Victor Rubin, John Spooner, Ron Tanberg, Lesley Tanner, Theo Tremblay, Albert Tucker, Danila Vassilieff, Ken Wadrop, Ruth Waller, Geoff Weary, Ian Were
Curator:
Rod James
Opened by:
Dr Joseph Camilleri (Chairperson, Department of Politics, La Trobe University)
Location:
Monash University Gallery
Monash University, Clayton Campus
About the exhibition
Nuclear (R)Age: The Bomb in Australian Art surveyed the varied responses of Australian artists to the nuclear age. Featuring more than eighty works produced since the end of the Second World War, including paintings, drawings and sculptures, as well as cartoons published in The Age newspaper, the exhibition demonstrated the breadth and the diversity of artistic engagement with the spectre of the atomic bomb.
The exhibition also addressed nuclear myth-making in Australian society, examining how public understanding of nuclear issues has been shaped by militarism, economics, and evolving policy in the post–Cold War era. The thematic scope of the works extended beyond national concerns to encompass global anxieties around apocalypse, environmental degradation and the social role of artistic representation.
Writing for the exhibition catalogue, guest curator Rod James noted that the exhibition offered an important opportunity to revisit key historically contested sites in Australia and to reflect on the changing nature of politically engaged art.
Acknowledgements
This exhibition was supported by the Visual Arts/Crafts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts through NETS Victoria.
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Image: Jonathan Kumintjarra Brown, Maralinga 1992, acrylic, sand and lizard skeleton on linen Ebes Collection © the artist estate. Photo: Jonathan Kumintjarra Brown