Destiny
Destiny Deacon is one of Australia’s boldest and most acclaimed contemporary artists.
In the largest retrospective of her work to date, DESTINY marks the artist’s first solo show in over 15 years. Featuring more than 100 multi-disciplinary works made over a 30-year period, the exhibition includes the premiere of newly commissioned works. Numerous early video works created with the late Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi photographer Michael Riley and West Australian performance artist Erin Hefferon are also on display.
A descendant of the Kuku and Erub/Mer people from Far North Queensland and Torres Strait, Deacon is known internationally for a body of work depicting her darkly comic, idiosyncratic worldview. Offering a nuanced, thoughtful and, at times, intensely funny snapshot of contemporary Australian life, Deacon reminds us that ‘serious’ art can also have a sense of humour.
Melbourne-based, Deacon works across photography, video, sculpture and installation to explore dichotomies such as childhood and adulthood, comedy and tragedy, and theft and reclamation. Her chaotic worlds, where disgraced dolls play out sinister scenes for audience amusement, subvert cultural phenomena to reflect and parody the environments around us.
(Header image: Destiny Deacon – Smile 2017)
About NGV Australia
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is the world’s first major gallery dedicated exclusively to Australian art. It is a spectacular showcase comprising over 20 galleries housed within a landmark architectural complex.
NGV Australia presents the history of Australian art from the Colonial period and the Heidelberg School through to contemporary art and includes photography, prints and drawings, fashion and textiles, decorative arts, and a suite of galleries dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
With special exhibitions and educational programs and new perspectives of the city through its glass matrix, NGV Australia is more than a great place to view art – it is a completely fresh approach that encourages people from all walks of life to enjoy the world of art.