Dr Christian Thompson AO is a Bidjara/Irish/Chinese-Australian contemporary artist whose work traverses and dissolves binary boundaries through an artistic practice that spans photography, performance, sculpture, film and sound. The artist critically engages with concepts of race, sexuality, gender and memory by inhabiting imagined personas, captured in fantastical environments frequently centered on native flora. In House of Gold, Thompson shifts focus to explore his Chinese heritage, dating back to the 1850s Gold Rush migration boom.
Drawing inspiration from a line of poetry from the Song Dynasty poetry 书中自有黄金屋 [shū zhōng zì yǒu huáng jīn wū], or, a book in the hand holds a house of gold, this exhibition was first presented at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in 2024 and celebrated the official debut of Thompson’s complete series House of Gold. Photographed on location, these works see the artist populating colonial historical buildings, including the Parliament of Victoria, the State Library of Victoria, the National Wool Museum (the former Dennys Lascelles Ltd. woolstore, built 1872), the Chinese Museum (former Cohen Bros furniture warehouse, built 1890), and Golden Dragon Museum (located on the historic site of Bridge St Chinatown, Bendigo). Utilising the body as a symbol of resistance, Thompson mines sites of colonial history as an act of quiet rebellion to the structural exclusion of authority within this country and subverts the power dynamics such institutions hold.
Supporting this emerging body of work are selected inclusions from New Gold Mountain, a series honouring the contributions of Thompson’s Chinese-Australian lineage, in particular his grandmother Harriet and great uncles Frederick and Charles. Speaking to the importance of cultural connection, this series is a proud celebration dedicated to the resilience and perseverance his family experienced, from the Chinese Immigration Act 1855 to the negative social discrimination experienced daily.
House of Gold chronicles a personal history of intersectional identity at generational scale. Dr Christian Thompson AO gives us glimpses of intimate moments shared between both his Bidjara and Cantonese family – learnings of language, food and self that make the artist whole.
Curated by Thea-Mai Baumann and Con Gerakaris with curatorial support from Reina Takeuchi.
A 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art exhibition, in partnership with Golden Dragon Museum Bendigo, supported by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global and touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.
Cairns Art Gallery, Public Curators Building
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri // 9:00am–5:00pm
Sat // 10:00am–5:00pm
Sun // 10:00am–2:00pm
Image: Dr Christian Thompson AO, b. 1978, Gawler, South Australia, House of Gold Chapter 10 (Chinese Museum) 2023, Moab Slickrock Metallic Pearl paper, wet mounted on archival backing (unframed). Series of 12 prints. Edition 1/1, 90 x 60 cm (print) , Courtesy Studio Dr Christian Thompson AO
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