Known for her incisive explorations of Australia’s colonial legacy, Joan Ross returns with a vibrant new series comprising paintings, works on paper, and a major new animation commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery.
In this body of work, Joan deepens her long-running investigation into the tensions between past and present, using her trademark fluorescent yellow to illuminate the fractures, omissions and mythologies embedded in colonial imagery. Through her digital reworking of historical paintings, she exposes the invisible labour, displaced histories and persistent power dynamics that continue to define the Australian landscape.
These new works signal a bold evolution in her practice. While maintaining the sharp wit and visual audacity for which she is widely celebrated, Joan introduces a more expansive, layered narrative approach, one that moves between humour and critique, beauty and discomfort. Her animation extends this dialogue further, inviting viewers into a shifting, immersive space where colonial narratives are unsettled and contemporary voices emerge.
Taken together, the series challenges us to reconsider what we think we know about Australia’s past. Joan’s work acts as both mirror and provocation, reminding us that the legacies of colonisation remain deeply present, shaping our collective memory and cultural imagination. Through her unmistakable visual language, she offers not just a re-reading of history, but an invitation to engage with it anew — critically, openly and with an eye towards a more honest future.
