Petrina Hicks works with photography to create large-scale photographs that draw from mythology, fables, and historical art imagery to reframe the contemporary female experience.
Permeated with a sense of magical realism, animals and females often appear together to represent aspects of psyche and identity, alluding to the complexity of female identity and the sentience of animals. The porous boundaries between human and animal states and the affinity of females and animals are central to her work.
In Snakes and mirrors the artist contemplates the self-awareness of animals, and our desire to understand the phenomenology of animal life from a human perspective.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Curator: MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea
Image:
Petrina HICKS
Memento mori II 2024
pigment inkjet print
courtesy of the artist and Michael Reid (Sydney)
Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh)
(Formerly Monash Gallery of Art)
860 Ferntree Gully Road
Wheelers Hill VIC 3150
T: +61 3 8544 0500
E: mga@monash.vic.gov.au
W: mga.org.au
Opening Hours
Tuesday - Friday: 10am–5pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm–5pm
Entry is Free
The Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the lands where our office is located, and all Traditional Owners of country throughout Victoria and Australia. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples enduring traditions and continuing creative cultures. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
We are an LGBTQIA+ friendly organisation that celebrates diversity. We are committed to providing safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive services for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.
