Fresh Hell brings together a suite of paintings that Brisbane-based artist Ryan Presley has been steadily developing over the past eight years, in a major solo exhibition.
Presley’s practice wrestles with themes of power and dominion—in particular, how religion and economic control served colonialism and empire building over time, and the representation of its customs and edifices in our everyday lives.
Fresh Hell is informed by Presley’s own Catholic upbringing and experience, having been baptised in a desert township; Alice Springs. Large-scale oil paintings are detailed and layered with meaning, often referencing the canon of Western religious works that span from the Icon schools, Middle Ages, Renaissance periods through to the current day. These historical referents are, however, re-interpreted by casting young Aboriginal people as the key protagonists in recent pasts and foreseeable futures.
This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.Ryan Presley: Fresh Hell is a co-commission by ACE, Adelaide, and Gertrude, Melbourne.
Gertrude Contemporary
21-31 High St, Preston VIC 3072, Australia