Gordon Hookey : A MURRIALITY

You are cordially invited to celebrate
the opening night of Gordon Hookey : A MURRIALITY, 
a survey of the renowned Waanyi artist, charting three decades of practice
where artmaking and activism fuse.

Artist talk with Gordon Hookey
Wednesday 4 June
5:30 - 6:00pm

Exhibition opening event
Wednesday 4 June
6:00 - 8:00pm

Plimsoll Gallery
37 Hunter Street, nipaluna / Hobart

Gordon Hookey: A MURRIALITY is the first survey of renowned Waanyi artist Gordon Hookey, charting three decades of practice where artmaking and activism fuse. Drawn from public collections as well as the artist’s own studio archive, this exhibition features over fifteen key works, presented alongside a major new commission of eight protest-style banners.

Charting his practice from the early 1990s until the present day, A MURRIALITY reveals an artist reckoning with the legacies of capital and empire. With biting wit and candour, Gordon’s work addresses issues including land rights, environmental destruction, institutional violence, human rights abuses, systemic racism, police corruption and international conflict.

Across large-scale painting, sculpture, video, print making and even a children’s book, Gordon reconstructs world histories and current affairs through the lens of his lived experience. In his trademark visual language, anthropomorphic kangaroos play out fantastical allegories, claiming victory over introduced species such as cane toads, camels, and, of course, pigs.

Superimposed over these frenetic tableaus is slang, text and political jargon that the artist has deliberately misspelt, disassembled and bastardised. For Gordy, whose mother tongue was taken from him in the process of colonisation, exploiting English vernacular is an act of Indigenisation and resistance.

In addition to previous works, A MURRIALITY features a significant commission that draws inspiration from Hookey’s vast collection of political posters and continues his acclaimed series of protest banners. Made for use in the public realm at Invasion Day marches and rallies recognising Aboriginal resistance fighter Dundalli, Hookey’s banners provide timely socio-political commentary while also imagining a truly empowered Indigenous future.

Curators: José Da Silva and Liz Nowell

Link to room sheet

A Murriality is presented by Dark Mofo and the Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania. Celebrate the dark through large-scale public art, food, music, fire, light and noise. Dark Mofo returns to Nipaluna/ Hobart from 5–15 + 21 June 2025.
Subscribe for updates: darkmofo.net.au

DARK MOFO Opening hours: 
5 – 8 June, 4pm – 10:00pm 
12 – 15  June, 4pm – 10:00pm

GALLERY Opening hours all other times
17 June – 16 August 
11am – 4pm Tuesdays – Saturdays
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and public holidays

A Murriality was developed in a partnership with the Institute of Modern Art, Meanjin/Brisbane, and UNSW Galleries, Gadigal/Sydney. Presented with the support of the Australia Council for the Arts, Gordon Darling Foundation, IMA Commissioners Circle and UNSW Commissioners Circle. Its national tour is supported by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia and by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

_{Image credit: Gordon Hookey ' hoogah boogah' 2005. Photo_Jacquie Manning. Courtesy of UNSW Galleries}