Christian Thompson: House of Gold

Dr Christian Thompson AO traverses and dissolves binary boundaries through an artistic practice that spans photography, performance, sculpture, moving image and sound. House of Gold draws inspiration from a line of Song Dynasty poetry 书中自有 金屋 [shū zhōng zì yǒu huáng jīn wū], or, 'a book in the hand holds a house of gold', and explores Thompson's Chinese heritage, dating back to the 1850s Gold Rush migration boom. The exhibition chronicles a personal history of intersectional identity at generational scale, where Thompson gives us glimpses of intimate moments shared between both his First Nations Bidjara and Cantonese family – learnings of language, food and self that make the artist whole.

A 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art exhibition, in partnership with Golden Dragon Museum Bendigo, supported by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global and touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program.

Image: Dr Christian Thompson AO, Double Happiness, 2021, c-type print on Fuji Pearl Metallic paper. Installation view, House of Gold, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2024. Courtesy Studio Dr Christian Thompson AO; Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne; and Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney and Berlin. Photo: Kai Wasikowski.