As an artist who explores the intersections of his Indigenous queer identity, Peter Waples-Crowe pushes expectations. Moving between various mediums and contexts, he’s known for his collage, painting, mixed-media, fashion and ceramics—and has recently expanded into theatre design and moving image. He co-designed the set for Griffin Theatre Company’s Dogged in 2021 and created the 2022 video Ngaya (I Am) for ACMI. The latter is an eclectic fusion of memoir and found image that speaks to both the power and erasure of Country through subverting colonial iconography.
This work will also be showing in Pride at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, the artist’s first major exhibition outside of Naarm/Melbourne, offering space and time for Waples-Crowe to reflect on and display critical pieces from the last five years. Timmah Ball talks with Waples-Crowe about how his art intersects with his health and social justice work, and how Pride signals a sense of closure alongside new directions.
“These are hard things to talk about sometimes. But I like going there, I think it’s important.”
—PETER WAPLES-CROWE
