Archie Moore, an artist hailing from Queensland, has announced plans to reimagine Australia's national pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale in April as a contemplative space that delves into the ramifications of colonization and imprisonment on Australia's Indigenous populations, while also honoring their enduring spirit. Moore represents the second Indigenous artist to helm a solo exhibition at the Australian pavilion in Venice in its 25-year history, following Tracey Moffatt's 2017 exhibit. Although specifics of the exhibit, named kith and kin, remain largely undisclosed, Moore has indicated it will serve as a venue for introspection and commemoration, influenced by his diverse heritage that spans Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British, and Scottish backgrounds, encapsulating his familial narrative as a microcosm of the 254-year colonial period in Australia.
Moore, born in Toowoomba in 1970, is renowned for his installations that draw upon his personal history and recollections of childhood, often employing elements such as scent, sound, and meticulously recreated environments. Notable works include recreations of his childhood home in Tara and his grandmother's hut in Glenmorgan, designed to fully engage viewers with his lived experiences.
Moore's work frequently explores the potential for understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through immersive installations. Despite this theme pervading his work over three decades, it was only within the last four years that Moore began to thoroughly investigate his ancestry, tracing back thousands of years and uncovering narratives that intertwine his European and Aboriginal heritage, including ancestors who were convicts and others who were awarded land that originally belonged to his Kamilaroi forebears.
The kith and kin exhibition aims to meld this rich personal history with Moore's broader concerns about national identity and governmental authority, emphasizing a presentation of his viewpoint rather than claiming to represent broader perspectives. Moore's ambition is to enhance awareness and understanding of Indigenous Australians among viewers.
Details of the exhibition remain sparse, as noted during a recent event at Moore's Marrickville gallery, the Commercial, where both he and curator Ellie Buttrose shared few specifics. Buttrose highlighted Moore's career-long focus on family memories, which will continue to be a significant aspect of this exhibition. Additionally, the narrative will spotlight Australia's history of incarceration, including stories of Moore's ancestors and references to the Guardian Australia’s Deaths Inside database, documenting Indigenous deaths in custody as evidence of systemic failures.
Growing up in a predominantly non-Aboriginal rural community, Moore, now 53, reflected on his childhood feelings of isolation and invisibility, which led to a deep engagement with art as a form of expression and identity. The title kith and kin, deliberately chosen for its resonance with both traditional English meanings and Indigenous conceptions of land and kinship, symbolizes the exhibition's thematic focus on land as an integral part of the kinship system.
The Venice Biennale is set to open on April 20.