'Ikwewak (Women)' by Caroline Monnet

Next date: Friday, 20 March 2026 | 12:00 AM to Saturday, 13 June 2026 | 11:59 PM

In these photographic and video works, Caroline Monnet invites women who are leaders in their fields to reclaim spaces that had previously been forbidden to their ancestors. This is the fifth and sixth work in a series that the artist began in 2016 in which she critically revisits major historical and art movements through an Indigenous lens.

This series of photographs staging First Nations women who depart from the European historical gaze by reshaping their skewed representation in the collective consciousness. Staring directly into the lens, in contrast to the anthropological, Eurocentric and overwhelmingly patriarchal approach of the past, these women resist the colonial hold that contemporary society has over them.

Through a sociological reflection on power, Monnet brings the colonized female body into the light, revealing that it is doubly threatened and historically tied to the land in colonial and patriarchal spatial configurations. This reality contributes to the belief that the bodies of indigenous women are up for grabs, just like objects or landscapes, to be owned and controlled.

These works are part of a series of works portraying indigenous woman in all her splendour, eccentricity, pride and charisma. She takes her rightful position in different artistic movements and historical contexts. The series brings these female bodies back into our cities, our lives, our families, and our imaginaries. It counterbalances the negative image of indigenous women, far too often conveyed in media.  

The artist considers her own generation, which wishes positively to transform itself in the future, leaning on its traditions, while taking a more important place in society. It engages a buoyant feeling for the future we will build together for the seven generations to come.

Image credit: Caroline Monnet Echoes From a Near Future (detail), 2022. Image courtesy the artist.

When

Location

Outdoor Lightbox Gallery

Kingston Arts Centre, 979 Nepean Highway, Moorabbin, 3189, View Map

Consider walking, cycling or using public transport options, leaving your car at home.

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