Archie Moore’s kith and kin exhibition for the Australia Pavilion at this year’s Venice Art Biennale has been awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. Commissioned by Creative Australia and curated by Ellie Buttrose, the installation was lauded for its subtle yet poignant confrontation of First Nations Australian history and its colonial legacies, whilst celebrating connective notions of history, identity, and lineage.
Coinciding with the biennale’s inauguration on April 20, the announcement was made during the Awards Ceremony at Ca’ Giustinian by the international jury comprising Julia Bryan-Wilson (USA), President of the Jury, Alia Swastika (Indonesia), Chika Okeke-Agulu (Nigeria), Elena Crippa (Italy), and María Inés Rodríguez (France/Colombia). ‘This installation stands out for its strong aesthetic, its lyricism, and its invocation of a shared loss of an occluded past. With his inventory of thousands of names, Moore also offers a glimmer of the possibility of recovery,’ comment the judges.
all images courtesy of Archie Moore / kith and kin2024 / Australia Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2024 | photography by Andrea Rossetti / © the artist / Image courtesy of the artist and TheCommercial
archie moore raises awareness of first nations Australian history
The 60th Art Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, calls for an exploration of the theme Foreigners Everywhere in response to which Archie Moore brings international awareness to the vitality of First Nations kinship, in spite of facing systemic injustices since British invasion in 1770. Bridging the personal and the political, a monumental genealogical chart etches across the pavilion’s black walls. It spans 65,000 years to trace the artist’s Kamilaroi and Bigambol ancestry stretching back more than 2,400 generations, while mirroring global narratives to highlight our shared ancestry and humanity.
Derived from Moore’s research with family, community and archivists, this intricate map of relations unfolds as a memorial, reflecting the unique familial structures of First Nations Australians and affirms their status as some of the world’s longest continuous living cultures. ‘Kith and Kin is a holographic map of relations which connects life and death, people and places, circular and linear time, everywhere and everywhen to a site for quiet reflection and remembrance,’ says the artist. Curator Ellie Buttrose adds: ‘Archie Moore profoundly affects those who listen. kith and kin enfolds all of us into Archie’s family. To be kin is to carry responsibilities; duties for each other and all living things throughout time. This commendation is a celebration of Archie’s generosity – it is an honour to witness his art.’
accolades at the 60th venice art biennial
Upon recommendation of the Curator of the 60th Exhibition, Adriano Pedrosa, two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement were awarded to Italian-born Brazilian artist Anna Maria Maiolino and to Paris-based Turkish artist Nil Yalter for their X respectively. New Zealand’s Mataaho Collective took the Golden Lion for the Best Participant in the International Exhibition, while the Silver Lion for a Promising Young Participant in the International Exhibition went to Karimah Ashadu. The Kosovo Pavilion also received a special mention for National Participation with their installation The Echoing Silences of Metal and Skin. Palestinian artist Samia Halab and Argentine artist La Chola Poblete were also recognized for their contributions in the Foreigners Everywhere exhibition.
