Christian Thompson

Dr Christian Thompson AO (Bidjara / Chinese - Australian) is an Australian born artist whose work explores notions of identity, cultural hybridity, decolonisation, ancestry, and historical register. Formally trained as a sculptor, Thompson’s multidisciplinary practice engages mediums such as photography, video, sculpture, performance & sound. His work focuses on the exploration of identity, sexuality, gender, race and memory. In his live performances and conceptual portraits he inhabits a range of personas achieved through handcrafted costumes & carefully orchestrated poses & theatrical backdrops. In 2010 Thompson made history when he became the first Aboriginal Australian to be admitted into the University of Oxford in its 900-year history. He is currently a research affiliate at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Thompson holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (Fine Art), Trinity College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Master of Theatre, Amsterdam School of Arts, Das Arts, The Netherlands; Masters of Fine Art (Sculpture) RMIT University and Honours (Sculpture) RMIT University, Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Southern Queensland. His works are held in major international and national collections. In 2018 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the visual arts as a sculptor, photographer, video and performance artist, and as a role model for young Indigenous artists. 

Thompson has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, having been included in exhibitions such as Australia at the Royal Academy for the Arts, London; We Bury Our Own, The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, and Valencian Institute of Modern Art, Valencia, Spain; The Other and Me, The Sharjah Museum, United Arab Emirates; Hijacked III, QUOD Gallery, Derby, United Kingdom; Shadow Life, Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre, Bangkok, Thailand; 17th Biennale of Sydney: The Beauty of Distance / Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age. A major survey exhibition of Thompson’s work, Christian Thompson: Ritual Intimacy, initiated by Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) toured nationally from 2017 to 2019. More recently, a survey of artist’s work, Being Human Human Being, was presented as a large-scale, open-air exhibition inaugurating the Soho Photography Quarter in central London, commissioned by The Photographers’ Gallery, London and Photo Australia. 

 

Christian Thompson was in the Gertrude Studio Program from 2006 – 2008.

 

Christian Thompson is represented by Michael Reid, Sydney & Berlin; Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne; and Yavuz Gallery.