For Joan Ross, the legacy of colonialism is writ large on the Australian landscape. Her now-signature aesthetic combines traditional landscape paintings such as those of colonial artist John Glover with the very contemporary shade of safety-vest fluoro yellow. In her video works, sprayed graffiti tags pepper the landscape and these 19th century protagonists shuffle around awkwardly, attempting ikebana arrangements with native flora until the whole scene collapses around them. Ross’s recent VR work, Did You Ask the River?, immerses the viewer in a chronologically disrupted tableau, using disarming humour to consider the destructive impact of colonialism.
Where to find her work: Ross has been commissioned to create a work that will feature on the hoarding of the AGNSW’s Sydney Modern construction project throughout 2020.
