La Biennale di Venezia has announced the inclusion of Marlene Gilson and Naminapu Maymuru-White in the upcoming exhibition "Foreigners Everywhere – Stranieri Ovunque", curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
The esteemed event will feature substantial collections from the two Indigenous artists, running from Saturday, April 20, to Sunday, November 24, with backing from Creative Australia funding.
Gilson and Maymuru-White will be accompanied by Gamilaroi and Bigambul artist Archie Moore and Curator, Ellie Buttrose in Venice, representing the artist and curator appointed by Creative Australia for the Australia Pavilion exhibition.
Yolŋu artist Naminapu Maymuru-White's pieces intricately portray her clan's Milŋiyawuy songline, capturing the celestial bodies and their mirrored images in the rivers of Arnhem Land's Yirritja moiety clans.
Celebrated for her pioneering role as one of the initial Yolŋu women instructed in the art of painting miny'tji (sacred creation clan designs), she distinguishes herself through her fluid and uninhibited compositions.
She is also one of eleven female artists featured in the 4 Bark Ladies installaiton, that celebrates the National Gallery of Victoria's extraordinary collection of work by Yolŋu women artists from the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre (Buku), in North-East Arnhem Land.
Her distinctive approach marks her as an exceptionally innovative figure within Yolŋu art.
"I am very honoured that you have lifted my name up and into this Biennale," she said.
"These stars of mine will now shine, reflected, in the waters of Venezia."
Her Grandson, Ngalakan (Billy) Wanambi will accompany her at the esteemed event, playing yidaki (Didgeridoo), welcoming the audience into her culture.
Drawing from her Wathaurung heritage, Marlene Gilson reclaims history and challenges colonial narratives through her art.
Her multi-figured paintings serve as a powerful critique of the dominant colonial narratives shaping Australia's history.
Departing from conventional genre norms, Gilson's artworks challenge and redefine representations of her family's expansive ancestral territory, spanning from Ballarat to Werribee, Geelong, Skipton, and the Otway Ranges in Victoria, Australia.
"I am honoured and deeply grateful to have been selected by Adriano Pedrosa for inclusion in the Venice Biennale," Ms Gilson said.
"It is an opportunity for me to present my Wadawurrung mob's stories and history to a bigger audience than I could have imagined.
"I am also honoured and proud to be exhibiting alongside two other First Nations artists, Archie Moore and Naminapu Maymuru-White."
