Dr 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. His 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. His work explores notions of identity, cultural hybridity & history. 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. He has lived in London (2014).
Formally trained as a sculptor, Thompson’s multidisciplinary practice engages mediums such as photography, video, sculpture, performance & sound. His work focuses on the exploration of identity, sexuality, gender, race and memory. In his live performances and conceptual portraits he inhabits a range of personas achieved through handcrafted costumes & carefully orchestrated poses & backdrops.
In 2010 Thompson made history when he became the first Aboriginal Australian to be admitted into the University of Oxford in its 900-year history. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (Fine Art), Trinity College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, Master of Theatre, Amsterdam School of Arts, Das Arts, The Netherlands, Masters of Fine Art (Sculpture) RMIT University and Honours (Sculpture) RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. His works are held in major international and national collections.
Thompson has exhibited widely both 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 '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. More recently, he has exhibited work in the exhibitions 'Australia' at the Royal Academy for the Arts, London, 'We Bury Our Own', The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, Valencian Institute of Modern Art, Valencia, Spain, 'The Other and Me', The Sharjah Museum, United Arab Emirates, 'Hijacked III', QUOD Gallery, Derby, United Kingdom, 'Shadow Life' Bangkok Art and Cultural centre, Bangkok, Thailand, and 'The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age', 17th Biennale of Sydney, curated by David Elliott.
Thompson's work is held in major public and private collections including:
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
Private Collections
Source: Courting Blakness website, hosted by AustLit.
