In conversation: Anouska Phizacklea and Paula Mahoney

Join MGA Director, Anouska Phizacklea, in conversation with the Wai Tang Commissioning Award recipient, Paula Mahoney, as they discuss her work in the exhibition, This landscape holds grief.

Paula Mahoney. Together in the valley, with the shadow of death 2022. Finalist, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award 2022; © Image courtesy of the artist.
Paula Mahoney. Together in the valley, with the shadow of death 2022.
Finalist, Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award 2022; © Image courtesy of the artist.

Paula Mahoney’s work represents an ongoing examination of death and personal loss. She investigates lamentation as a necessary yet optimistic viewpoint that suggests psychological shifts, creating both an awareness of our limitations and our connection to each other and to a greater whole. She uses performative photography and portraiture, frequently using herself, daughter, niece and sisters, wearing clothes of dead loved ones.

Free event. RSVP essential.

Cover image: © Paula Mahoney. Leaning into the hills (detail) 2022, from the series, This landscape hold grief. Pigment ink-jet print 80 x 120 cm, courtesy of the artist and Fletcher Arts (Melbourne)

 

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April

Canberra: 27 Feb until 20 July 2025. The National Library has invited renowned Australian photojournalist Mike Bowers to select some of his favourite images from the Fairfax Photo Archive.

Brisbane: Until 13 July 2025. Amateur Brisbane photographer Alfred Henrie Elliott (1870-1954) extraordinary images lay dormant for decades until they were discovered only recently. This exhibition is curated by seven Brisbane photographers.

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

May

Sydney: 15 May – 19 October. Showcasing 100 incredible images, this remarkable exhibition offers a window into the astonishing variety of life on our planet – and the critical importance of preserving it.

Perth: From 31 May – 28 Sept 2025. Featuring 85 works from three major series – Deep Springs, Overpass, and Cross Country – the exhibition spans twelve years of Contis’s evolving photographic practice.

June

Melbourne: June 5 - 16 August 2025. The explore the history of Alan Adler's photobooths and their cultural significance, alongside visual stories told by the community.

Adelaide: 7 June – 16 August. Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection, this photographic exhibition captures the experience of lives lived through dance.

Melbourne: 7 June – 31 August. Protest is a Creative Act seeks to address issues around the body, sexuality, race, national identity and the environment.

Canberra; June 19 - July 12 2025. The River Report is a five-day map of when a normal Yitilal (wet season) turned into a major disaster and the local inhabitants were once again displaced.