Join us to gain insights into the artistic practice of 2026 Gilbert Fellow Bonita Ely.
Bonita Ely will present a talk on her interdisciplinary practice spanning more than 50 years, working across sculpture, installation, performance, video, and photography. The lecture will address key phases of her work, from early performances focused on ecological responsibility and community dynamics to later projects shaped by feminist concerns, climate change, and cultural interface, including her sustained focus on the Murray River as a site of environmental and cultural inquiry.
About Bonita Ely
Bonita Ely (b. 1946, Mildura, Victoria) is an Australian artist whose interdisciplinary practice since the 1970s has explored environmental and socio-political issues. Working across sculpture, installation, performance, video and photography, she creates conceptual works shaped by an enduring fascination with science, communication, human impact and the natural world. Ely’s practice often combines forensic research, vivid imagination and wry humour, using abject aesthetics and invented personas to examine relationships between humans, other species and fragile ecosystems.
Early performances addressed ecological responsibility and community tensions, with feminist concerns emerging in the 1980s and later expanding into broader reflections on climate change, history and cultural interface. A recurring focus is the Murray River, which she has documented through performances, photographs and installations that foreground environmental degradation and contested landscapes. Ely invites viewers to actively engage with her installations and performances, confronting existential questions around environmental destruction and the cultural moment.
Bonita Ely is represented by Milani Gallery.
Image: Bonita Ely, Menindee Fish Kill, 2019. Photographer: Melissa Williams-Brown. Courtesy the artist.
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