Future Tense

Bonita Ely is recognised as a leading voice within contemporary art practice in Australia and internationally since the 1970s. The intellectual and artistic groundings of her practice are diverse, encompassing feminist methodologies, Fluxus, speculative fiction, Taoist teachings, conceptual art, parody, museum displays and scientific typologies.

Bonita Ely: Future Tense brings together several works that propose darkly humorous dystopian futures and hybrid evolutions wrought by environmental degradation and genetic engineering. Each project centres around parodic combinations of different species—such as locust/human, rabbit/snail – and reflects our desires, fears, manipulation and emotional connection with other species. Ely’s works are not only inherently futurist and speculative, they are often also iterative, building upon previous showings. This exhibition includes two new configurations of installations, as well as several historical works that date from or document earlier projects.