A velvet ant, a flower and a bird

A velvet ant, a flower and a bird evokes a garden of knowledge anchored by three familiar figures from nature — a velvet ant, a flower and a bird. These figures represent a parliament of beings, each carrying symbolic and metaphorical weight that encourage us to reimagine what intelligence means.

Each museum floor is presided over by one of these natural entities, creating a kind of garden where there is no pre-established order, but rather an ecosystem in which the analogue and the digital interrelate to give rise to a fantastic mental realm.

Drawing from the University of Melbourne’s Classics, Biology, and Art collections, alongside new commissions and performances; historic and contemporary art co-mingle to envision intelligence as living, continually evolving, interconnected and interdependent.

Guest curated by Professor Dr Chus Martínez, Head of the Institute of Art Gender Nature at the FHNW Academy of Arts and Design, Basel, Switzerland.

Participating artists include: Adrian Mauriks, Agnieszka Polska, Alan Craiger-Smith, Alexa Karolinski & Ingo Niermann, Alexandra Copeland, Ann Lislegaard, Anouk Tschanz, Anthony Romagnano, Archie Barry, Barbara A Swarbrick, Benjamin Armstrong, Brent Harris, Carol Murphy, Daphne Mohajer va Pesaran, David Noonan, Derek Tumala, Din Matamoro, Eduardo Navarro, Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison, Harold Munkara, Heather B Swann, Helen Ganalmirriwuy Garrawurra, Helen Maudsley, Ian Wayne Abdullah, Inge King AM, Ingela Ihrman, Jane Jin Kaisen, Joan Jonas, John Pule, Josie Papialuk, Judith Pungkarta Inkamala, Julia Mensch, Kate Daw, Lauren Burrow, Liss Fenwick, Lorraine Jenyns, Malcolm Howie, Margaret Rarru Garrawurra, Marian Tubbs, Mel O’Callaghan, Mia Boe, Miles Howard-Wilks, Nabilah Nordin, Naomi Hobson, Neha Choksi, Noemi Pfister, Noriko Nakamura, Percy Grainger, Pippin Louise Drysdale, Rivane Neuenschwander & Cao Guimarães, Rosslynd Piggot, Rrikin Burarrwaŋa, Salvador Dalí, Sattar Stas Shärifulla, Taloi Havini, Tamara Henderson, Teelah George, Tessa Laird, and Tony Warburton.

Events

The giant flower festival: Opening program for A velvet ant, a flower and a bird

Join us for The giant flower festival - a series of free public events celebrating the opening of A velvet ant, a flower and a bird.

Guided Tours

Join one of our gallery attendants on a 20- to 30- minute guided tour to explore selected highlights from the new exhibition, A velvet ant, a flower and a bird. 

Supporters

This exhibition is made possible by

Pro Helvetia: Swiss Arts Council, Danish Arts Foundation, Swedish Arts Council, Embassy of Spain in Canberra, Oxenford Collection, Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW and TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary.