Dylan Mooney
Thriving (2022)
“This artwork speaks about the resilience of the Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ communities. These communities are resilient peoples that are thriving and growing. Through so much adversity, we have overcome all the obstacles that have been thrown at us, and we will keep empowering each other and grow in strength for a better future for us.
“In my new series, large-format watercolour portraits focus on love in queer communities, illustrating issues affecting my lived experience in ways that are poignant and very much of our moment. My work narrates my personal experience as a proud queer Indigenous man. My aim is that identity, desire and representation are brought together to promote discussions of art that include acknowledgment of works created by members of groups that have often been overlooked or underrepresented in the broader art world.
“I’m among artists who are rethinking digital technologies and artistic practices to consider contemporary issues around identity, desire and representation. I’m interested in the ways in which we can reframe the conversation around some of the voices that have been left out … The artist has made an important body of work that embodies a shift in representation of queer love among people of colour.” Dylan Mooney’s new exhibition Still Here and Thriving is on display as part of Sydney WorldPride at N.Smith Gallery. In October, a selection of his works will be exhibited at the Australian embassy in France, curated by Myles Russell-Cook of the NGV.