In 1900, the wealth of the Smith Family made possible the commissioning of Bundoora Homestead, a magnificent Queen Anne style mansion. Now a public gallery for the City of Darebin, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre seems a fitting context to begin a conversation about the ways Australians have made and saved money throughout history, and at what environmental and social cost.
In a new exhibition titled ‘Lucky?’, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre’s Senior Curator Claire Watson, together with guest co-curator Sophia Cai, explore the history and effects of gold-mining and the pursuit of wealth in Australia through a contemporary lens.
The exhibition brings together artworks that explore issues of exploitation, mining for gold, and desecration of the natural environment. The selected works interrogate wealth and the Australian dream of finding a better life — a fair go — in the context of cultural, racial and political inequalities.
Image: Ryan Presley Blood Money – Ten Dollar Note – Vincent Lingiari Commemorative 2011
Water colour on archers paper | 75 x 100 cm, Murdoch University Art Collection