Danie Mellor
Photo: Andrew Curtis
Danie Mellor
Mamu/Njadjonji born 1971
Level 2
NGV International
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PROJECT
Danie Mellor is a contemporary artist whose multidisciplinary practice explores the intersections of contemporary and historic culture. His re-evaluation of iconic landscape traditions is informed by his connection to place through his Aboriginal and European heritage, and ongoing preoccupation with the Australian landscape and its cultural histories. The images in The dialectic gaze, drawn from archival sources, show pristine and altered landscapes, traditional owners and colonial settlers. These historical photographs build a snapshot of life unfolding and changing over a short period during colonial invasion in northern Queensland. The staging and posing evident in many photographs is a potent way of considering the spectacle and theatre of colonial expansion, as is the display of the pictures in this crowded hang.
ABOUT
Danie Mellor works and lives in Bowral, New South Wales. His multidisciplinary research and practice explore intersections between contemporary and historic culture, and the legacies of cultural memory and knowledge. Born in Mackay, North Queensland, his maternal Aboriginal rainforest heritage is Ngadjon/Mamu from the Atherton Tablelands and Cairns region, and his father’s family immigrated to Australia from California in the early 1900s. Mellor’s work is held in museum collections across Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, and in international collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the British Museum, and the National Museums of Scotland.
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2022