Christian Thompson was born in Gawler, South Australia, in 1978. He is a Bidjara man of the Kunja Nation from central western Queensland and is also of German-Jewish heritage. His mother’s family are from Gundagai in New South Wales. As an artist, Thompson spurns classification both in terms of style, medium, time, occupation, history and heritage. At the time of writing (2008) he was living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Thompson graduated from RMIT in Melbourne with a Master of Fine Arts in 2004. In 2008 he was studying at, and involved in the DasArts Advanced Studies in Performing Arts programme in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). His art practice is multi-disciplinary, encompassing textile based sculpture, photography, installation, performance, video and sound.
Thompson’s art practice is distinctive within Australia’s art scene, as an Aboriginal artist raised in the 1980s his work absorbs the influences of that time. Elements of pop culture, dance, fashion, performance and mass media combine with the relationship between objects, space and history. His work engages the viewer and challenges our understanding of Australian identity and what it means to 'be’ Australian.
Thompson has exhibited nationally and internationally, he has participated in pivotal curated exhibitions such as 'Culture Warriors’ (2007) the inaugural National Indigenous Art Triennial held at the National Gallery of Australia, curated by Brenda L Croft; and also 'Half Light: Portraits from Black Australia’ (2008) an exhibition of key contemporary Indigenous artists working in photo-media, curated by Hetti Perkins at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Thompson has work held in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Aboriginal Art Museum in Utrecht, Netherlands.
- Writers:
- Chant, Armando
amyk
- Date written:
- 2008
- Last updated:
- 2009
