Telling the story of Australian design: Broached Commissions retrospective

August 17th, 2018

Tags: Adam Goodrum, Broached Commissions, Charles Wilson, Lucy McRae, Ma Yansong, Max Lamb, Mimi Jung, NGV Australia, Trent Jansen

What is Australia’s design identity? Wanting to explore this rich narrative, the NGV’s latest exhibition – Design Storytellers: The Work of Broached Commissions – at the Ian Potter Centre will feature the bespoke design objects of Broached Commissions.

Founded in 2010, Broached Commissions has been collaborating with both local and international designers to create one-of-a-kind objects that speak to a new age of Australian design.

The new exhibition is the first retrospective of the design production house and includes the work of designers such as Trent Jansen, Adam Goodrum, Charles Wilson, Max Lamb and Ma Yangsong.

From Chen Lu’s lantern piece inspired by the life of female convict Mary Bryant to a free-standing whisky bar designed by Naihan Li in response to the influx of Chinese migrant workers to the goldfields, this exhibition reveals design’s ability to engage with Australia’s history, mythology and the human condition.

Talking about the importance of the exhibition, the NGV’s director Tony Ellwood, says, “Design Storytellers offers audiences the opportunity to think about the power of objects; to delve into our social history and tell stories that resonate into the future.

“This exhibition presents work by some of the most interesting Australian and international designers today, positioning design as a powerful tool for shaping culture and enabling self-reflection, and the designer as thought-leader and change-maker.”

Designer Mimi Jung inside Design Storytellers: The Work of Broached Commissions exhibition space, at NGV Australia. Photo: Sean Fennessy.

Highlights of the show include the work of Los Angeles-based Korean artist Mimi Jung and her never-seen-before set of glass objects, which encapsulate her experiences of migration. Paludarium Shigelu by Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto explores the complex relationship between Australia and Asia in the mid-to-late 19th century, while Lucy McRae’s Prickly Lamp reflects on the colonial period.

With the story of Australian identity being looked at through a design lens – Design Storytellers is set to be an interesting exhibition that celebrates our rich history.

Design Storytellers: The Work of Broached Commissions is FREE and on display from 17 August 2018 – February 2019 at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square.

Exhibition photography by Sean Fennessy.

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