Australia’s colonial history is examined in reverse through artists Michael Cook’s complete Invasion series on display at Benalla Art Gallery throughout September and October.
The series includes eight works, which place an imaginative eye on Australian colonial history, taking alien creatures into iconic London-based cityscapes, with white urban residents the victims.
Cook’s images express the shock that enveloped the Australian continent when European people appeared on Aboriginal shores.
Benalla Art Gallery director Eric Nash said within the broad narrative were mini narratives that spoke to the past, historical references that tease out and reverse the racist practices imposed on Aboriginals.
The drama of such an event is heightened with the use of vintage-inspired B-grade horror movie aesthetic.
Mr Nash said he expected “audiences would be compelled by these striking works and their cinematic quality, and equally by the important discussions they elicit”.
“Benalla Art Gallery is also extremely grateful to Michael Cook, with five works from the series that will be displayed having been donated to the Benalla Art Gallery Collection through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program,” Mr Nash said.
Cook, a Brisbane-based photomedia artist of Bidjara heritage, said his work was inspired by wondering what it must have been like for Indigenous Australians to see Europeans arriving 250 years ago.
“What could be an equivalent to that level of shock in today’s society, something way outside existing experience, and even imagination?” he asked.
“I wanted to bring that same sense of shock, only in reverse. This time Aboriginal Aliens, super-sized grubs, giant lizards, possums on UFOs and laser-shooting fembots invade the streets of the ‘mother’ country, in a role-reversal of Australian history.”
Cook’s work has been exhibited in London, San Francisco, Geneva, Singapore, the Netherlands, Quebec, Fukiyama, South Korea, Monaco and Venice.
Michael Cook’s Invasion opens at the Benalla Art Gallery on Friday, September 2 and continues until Sunday, October 23.