Scotty So Queen Of Begonia's & Hai Kot Tou

Image: 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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November

Sydney: The exhibition delves into the State Library of NSW's vast collection of two million images, showcasing 400 photos – many displayed for the first time.

March

Albury: The National Photography Prize offers a $30,000 acquisitive prize, the $5000 John and Margaret Baker Fellowship for an emerging practitioner, and further supports a number of artists through focused acquisitions.

May

Ballarat: Art Gallery of Ballarat presents Lost in Palm Springs, a multidisciplinary exhibition that brings together fourteen creative minds who respond to, capture, or re-imagine the magical qualities of the landscape and the celebrated mid-century modern architecture of Palm Springs, California and across Australia.

June

Canberra: The works by the 34 selected finalists provide a powerful visual record of the year, reflecting a particular time in Australian culture, both socially and artistically.

Sydney: The exhibition features over 90 photographs that shine a light on the astonishing array of flora, fauna and landscapes that can be found across the Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bioregion.

July

Wollongong: Employing magical realism and unique printing techniques, Cooper’s photographs place their inhabitants in a dreamlike world.

Melbourne: A group photography exhibition from 19 local Melbourne photographers.

Sydney: Award-winning art director, trained architect and acclaimed photographer Damien Drew shines a light on the serene yet haunting landscapes of Japan’s Shikoku Island in his latest exhibition ‘Shikoku no Seijaku’ (Shikoku Silence).

Sydney: Influenced by a family legacy from migrant to missionary, seamstress, and educators, Milgate's work intertwines personal and historical narratives, delving into the socio-political context of colonial and post-colonial discourses.

August

Melbourne: Dani Watson's landscape photography investigates the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world.