Australian artist Helen Johnson addresses the truths of British colonial attitudes in a suite of complex, large-scale paintings that shine a hard, satirical light onto the violence, bribery and corruption underpinning Australia’s history.

Melbourne based Johnson combs through state library archives for inspiration for her heavily textured paintings. Created on unstretched canvases, each piece packs an irreverent and exuberant punch.

Join us for a free artist talk on Saturday 6 January, 1–2pm. Afternoon tea provided. No booking required.

Helen Johnson is joined in conversation with Richard Bell, Megan Cope and Joan Ross to talk about the complexities of addressing colonialism in art, and to reflect on the different perspectives and strategies used by artists concerned with questions of cultural attitudes and national identity.

Juliette Desorgues, Independent curator, will moderate the conversation using Warm Ties, Johnson's new commission with Artspace and the ICA, London as a prompt for conversation.

Helen Johnson, Warm Ties, 2017, installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, London. Photo: Mark Blower

Helen Johnson's Warm Ties was co-commissioned by Artspace, Sydney and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London and has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. Its development and presentation is supported by Commissioning Partner the Keir Foundation.