Home décor (Preston + de Stijl = Citizen) Panorama

For the past decade Gordon Bennett has produced paintings, installation and video works that examine and criticise the representation of Aboriginal people and their histories within the dominant Anglo-European construction of Australian history. His work is about issues of identity and cultural power as they relate to contemporary Australia. Bennett’s painting combines references to international art and history in an intricately coded format. We see references to other artists like Margaret Preston, Philip Guston, Kasimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian, combined with stylized images of a waterhole, an Aboriginal figure, and references to Christianity. This work reveals Bennett’s position as an artist working between two complex systems: western art history and traditions and Aboriginal culture.

Text © National Gallery of Victoria, Australia