Limerence

In his international and multi-platform exhibition, Limerence + Recital, Dr Christian Thompson AO uses performative frameworks to raise symbolic and vocal protest to cultural erasure. Presented in two distinct modes, this exhibition debuts new renditions of Thompson’s ongoing Flower Wall series, and a single live performance titled Recital, commissioned by Phoenix Central Park, Sydney.

As one of Australia’s leading cultural voices, Thompson has spent over two decades exploring the intersectionality of identity through his lyrical and allegorical work. Over that time Thompson’s critiques of dominant cultural narratives have re-shaped social debate in Australia and highlighted the complex identities of those considered as ‘other’. The enigmatic approach of the artist has found global resonance, establishing Thompson as one of the few practicing Australian artists with international influence.

New photographic work will be presented across Michael Reid Sydney and Michael Reid Berlin. A trio of Limerence flower walls extend on an iconic mode of presentation that has seen these works collected and exhibited globally across institutions and festivals since 2019. Thompson’s use of Irish Gaelic titles (drawing on the artist’s Irish heritage) opens consideration of diasporic trauma, paralleling the Artist’s ongoing efforts to revive his own traditional language.

At Phoenix Central Park, Thompson will present a single performance of Recital. The work poetically combats the extinction of the Bidjara language through the defiant act of song. The performance delivers a sensory experience of language and memory that is powerfully connected to the past, and actively reversing the loss of language in the present.

Limerence + Recital exhibits at Michael Reid Berlin as part European Month of Photography 2023, Europe’s largest festival of Contemporary Photography.

The Artist and Gallery Directors wish to thank Executive Producer and Creative Director of Phoenix, Beau Neilson, as well as Judith Neilson AM for their crucial support of this project.