Scotty So Queen Of Begonia's & Hai Kot Tou

Venue: The Art Gallery of Ballarat
Location: 40 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat 3350
23 Feb - 4 Apr, 2024
Web: https://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/explore/exhibitions/scotty-so

The Art Gallery of Ballarat is thrilled to present Scotty So: Queen of Begonias & Hai Kot Tou as part of PHOTO2024, a statewide international photography festival. The outdoor exhibition will open on the 23 February 2024 on the gallery’s Art Screen and lightboxes in Alfred Deakin Place, Ballarat.

Scotty So is a Melbourne-based artist who works across media, using painting, photography, sculptures, site-responsive installation, videos and drag performance. Driven by the thrill of camp, he explores the often-contradictory relationship between humour and sincerity within lived experience to offer a glimpse of a future society that embraces difference.

The exhibition features the premiere of a new video work by So where he pays tribute to the Begonia Queens, a feature of Ballarat’s Begonia Festival from 1953 to 1993. The new video work will be complemented by images from his series Hai Kot Tou, exhibited for the first time in Australia.

In this series, the artist is photographed dressed in ripped-off items from high-fashion brands, echoing the head-to-toe monogram trend of the new money in Asia, with matching grocery trolleys, a tribute to his Hong Kong grandmother.

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February

New Light: Photography Now + Then

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.

Level 3, Brisbane City Hall King George Square, Brisbane 4000 Museum of Brisbane. Level 3 City Hall. | 1 Feb - 13 Jul, 2025

Henry Roy - Impossible Island

Perth: Until 18 May 2025. Henry Roy – Impossible Island draws on 40-years of recollections and observations as it brings together 113 photos taken from 1983 to 2023.

Perth Cultural Centre, Perth The Art Gallery of Western Australia | 1 Feb - 18 May, 2025

PIX – The magazine that changed everything (1938-1972)

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.

1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney State Library of NSW | 1 Feb - 31 Dec, 2025

Max Dupain – Student Life

Sydney: Until 30 June. The photographs in Max Dupain: Student Life were taken at the University of Sydney in the early 1950s, a period of rapid change marked by the politics of the Cold War.

Level 4, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney, University Place, Camperdown Level 4, Chau Chak Wing Museum | 1 Feb - 29 Jun, 2025

DANCER: A National Portrait Gallery touring exhibition

Melbourne: Until 26 April 2025. The exhibition features 52 works from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of dance legends and reflects the freedom and joy of dance and its power to connect.

27-37 Davey St Frankston vic 3199 Frankston Arts Centre | 7 Feb - 26 Apr, 2025

Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition

Sydney: Until 27 April 2025. Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition. Featuring 118 extraordinary images, this exhibition explores the awe-inspiring beauty and fragility of our oceans.

2 Murray Street Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW 2000 Australian National Maritime Musuem | 19 Feb - 27 Apr, 2025

Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive

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.

Parkes Place West, Parkes Canberra The National Library | 23 Feb - 20 Jul, 2025