Prosperity is the first publication on Brisbane artist Ryan Presley, following his exhibition at the IMA earlier this year. It features Presley’s own writing on the history of the Australian colony’s first currency—the holey dollar—with essays by Tina Baum, Daniel Browning, and Suvendrini Perera, exploring different manifestations of currency as a tool of the colonial project.
Join Presley and the publication’s editor Madeleine King in conversation for the Brisbane launch of Prosperity. A special launch price will be available for attendees.
Biographies
Ryan Presley was born in 1987 in Alice Springs, and currently lives and works in Brisbane. His father’s family is Marri Ngarr and originate from the Moyle River region in the Northern Territory. His mother’s family were Scandinavian immigrants to Australia. Presley’s work has been included in Trade Markings, Van Abbemuseum (2018); the 33rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Darwin; Frontier Imaginaries, IMA, Brisbane; TarraWarra Biennial: Endless Circulation (all 2016). His work is held in public collections at the University of Queensland Art Museum, Murdoch University, Griffith University Art Collection, and the Museum of Brisbane. Presley completed a PhD at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, in 2016, and his current project “Prosperity: An In-Depth Analysis of the Blood Money Series” is supported by Griffith University’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Scheme. His solo exhibition Ryan Presley: Prosperity was held at the IMA in 2018.
Madeleine King is Assistant Director of the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, and is the editor and curator of Ryan Presley: Prosperity.
