Press Release
ACMI and The Ian Potter Cultural Trust are excited to announce the world premiere of Darling Darling, by Gabriella Hirst, as the first solo art exhibition in the new ACMI.
Darling Darling is a two channel video installation exploring hierarchies of care, romanticism and the enduring colonial gaze upon the Australian landscape and the devastation of Australia’s third largest waterway, the Barka Darling River.
The installation presents two contrasting perspectives of the same body of water: the detailed work by art conservators to restore the 19th century painting, The flood in the Darling, 1890, by colonial painter WC Piguenit, and the environmental crisis facing the Barka Darling today, as a result of drought, climate change, and severe water mis-
Darling Darling is the result of Australia's most significant commission for moving image art, the Ian Potter Moving Image Commission (IPMIC), an initiative of the Ian Potter Cultural Trust and ACMI. Hirst's 2020 commission follows previous recipients who include Angelica Mesiti, (2013) and Daniel Crooks (2016).
About Gabriella Hirst
Gabriella Hirst (she/her) is an artist. She was born and grew up on Cammeraygal land (Australia) and is currently living between Berlin and London. She works primarily with moving image, performance, and with the garden as a site of critique and care. Gabriella’s practice and research explores connections between various manifestations of capture and control—spanning plant taxonomies, landscape painting, art conservation and nuclear history.
© ArtCatalyse International / Marika Prévosto 2021. All Rights Reserved
Gabriella Hirst, Darling Darling (still), 2020