Blak, Queer & Here

14 July — 7 August 2021

Curated by Georgia Hayward

Dylan Mooney is among artists who are rethinking digital technologies and artistic practices to consider contemporary issues around identity, desire and representation. Interested in the ways in which we can reframe the conversation around some of the voices that have been left out, the artist has made an important body of work that embodies a shift in the representation of queer love among people of colour. His work focuses on love in queer communities, deftly illustrating issues affecting Mooney’s lived experience in ways that are poignant and very much of our moment. Here, the artist narrates his personal experience as a proud queer Indigenous man. Subjects stand proudly and defiantly, gazing out at the viewer. Identity, desire, and representation are brought together to promote discussions of art that include the acknowledgement of works created by members of groups that have often been overlooked or under-represented in the broader art world. This blending of digital technology and social commentary is a uniting of the artist’s sense of optimism – pride within the works exude profoundness and substance.

Dylan is a proud Yuwi, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander man from Mackay in North Queensland working across painting, printmaking, digital illustration and drawing. Influenced by history, culture and family, Mooney responds to community stories, current affairs and social media. Armed with a rich cultural upbringing, Mooney now translates the knowledge and stories passed down to him, through art. Legally blind, the digital medium’s backlit display allows the artist to produce a high-impact illustrative style with bright, saturated colour that reflects his experiences with keen political energy and insight.

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As We Stand is a capsule exhibition curated by Georgia Hayward and installed in the Outer Space Window Gallery, showcasing six local early-career artists; Kyra Mancktelow, Paula de la Rua Cordoba, Dylan Mooney, Ruaa Al-Rikabi, Amy Sargeant and Lucy Nguyễn-Hunt who each use their practice to take a stand on current socio-cultural issues through prophesying courses of action. Responding to a diverse array of contemporary issues, the artists challenge cultural hegemony and socio-political dysfunctionality to establish and celebrate narratives of intersectionality, cultural expression, queer liberation and decolonisation.

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