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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Melbourne
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Victoria
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Australia
- Date
- 2009-2010
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- synthetic polymer paint on linen
- Dimensions
- 170.0 x 170.0 cm stretcher
- Signature & date
Signed and dated u.l. corner to top c. verso on stretcher, pencil "KATE BEYNON … 2009-10".
- Credit
- Contemporary Collection Benefactors 2012
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 280.2012
- Copyright
- © Kate Beynon
- Archibald Prize
- - 2010
- Artist information
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Kate Beynon
Works in the collection
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About
Kate Beynon's work explores the journey she has taken from her birthplace in Kowloon – also known as the City of Nine Dragons – to her life in Australia. Leaving Hong Kong as a young child, she lived in Singapore, Germany and the United Kingdom before arriving in Australia in 1974. As an Australian artist with Chinese-Malaysian and Welsh heritage, Beynon’s work embraces notions of hybrid identities and fluid cross-cultural exchanges.
Blending traditional and contemporary imagery, Beynon’s distinct visual style is informed by a diverse range of pictorial traditions including European art history, Chinese painting, comic books, animation, film, graffiti, calligraphy and fashion. Her visual narratives draw upon signs and symbols from history to construct dynamic, transitional images, which celebrate the diversity and vitality of coexistence.
In 'Self-portrait with guardian spirits' she depicts herself sitting cross-legged in a half lotus position – a Buddhist mediative pose – accompanied by a large golden dragon and twin green lion-dogs. Dragons represent a positive force in both Chinese and Welsh cultures. Fierce, protective and always benevolent, they symbolise strength and good luck. The lion-dogs, or ‘fu dogs’, appear as chunky canines with pink swirly manes, their fangs displayed in flashy grins. As companions and guardians, they bear a resemblance to the artist’s own rescued staffy cross-breed. These hybrid creatures challenge the notion of ‘pure origin’, while also creating a sense of adoration and safe-guarding. The idea of protection is also reflected by the heart-shaped jade pendant worn by the artist, an amulet from her mother. It portrays an interest in auspicious charms and talismans, combined with family connections.
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Places
Where the work was made
Melbourne
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Exhibition history
Shown in 4 exhibitions
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 Mar 2010–20 May 2010
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, , 11 Jun 2010–11 Jul 2010
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Australia, 22 Jul 2010–22 Aug 2010
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth, 30 Aug 2010–24 Sep 2010
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery, Coffs Harbour, 04 Oct 2010–27 Oct 2010
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Muswellbrook Art Centre, , 04 Nov 2010–05 Dec 2010
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Shoalhaven City Arts Centre, Nowra, 14 Dec 2010–18 Jan 2011
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (2010), Albury Regional Gallery, Albury, 27 Jan 2011–03 Mar 2011
Kate Beynon, Frida & friends, Sutton Gallery, Fitzroy, 20 Apr 2012–19 May 2012
Carnivalesque, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 23 Jun 2018–28 Oct 2018
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 05 Jun 2021–26 Sep 2021
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Geelong Gallery, Geelong, 06 Nov 2021–20 Feb 2022
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns, 18 Mar 2022–12 Jun 2022
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 09 Jul 2022–03 Oct 2022
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Launceston, 22 Oct 2022–08 Jan 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, 26 Jan 2023–26 Mar 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin, 15 Apr 2023–25 Jun 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Home of the Arts, Surfers Paradise, 15 Jul 2023–02 Oct 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, National Portrait Gallery [Parliamentary Zone], Canberra, 21 Oct 2023–28 Jan 2024
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Bibliography
Referenced in 1 publication
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Art Gallery of New South Wales (Editor), 2010 Archibald Prize, Sydney, 2010, (colour illus.). Highly commended; cat.no. 34
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