As part of Perth Festival 2025, John Curtin Gallery will showcase powerful new works by Yindjibarndi artist Alice Guiness and Dharawal Country-based artist Mai Nguyễn-Long, offering audiences an immersive exploration of cultural identity, connection, and storytelling.
A respected Elder and senior artist, Guiness paints the Burndud—a significant ceremonial site and story on Yindjibarndi Ngurra (Country) in northern Western Australia.
Each stroke within the Burndud circle holds meaning, weaving a narrative deeply rooted in her connection to land, ceremony, and ancestral knowledge.
Ms Guiness' exhibition, Burndud Ground, presents a broad survey of her Burndud paintings, reflecting her lived experience through art, ceremonial dance, and her spiritual ties to Ngurra.
The exhibition is a major commission by Perth Festival's Boorloo Contemporary program, produced in collaboration with Juluwarlu Art Group.
Juluwarlu CEO Lorraine Coppin emphasised the significance of the project, which allows Ms Guiness to experiment with new artistic forms such as neon sculpture and immersive media installations.
"Perth Festival has provided the Yindjibarndi Nation—through Juluwarlu—a platform to showcase who we are as an arts and culture centre and to keep the visual practices of our significant stories alive," Ms Coppin said.
She highlighted the importance of Ms Guiness' work as a form of storytelling and healing.
"Art is a human creativity—it helps us make sense of life. Mum (Alice) is desperately helping us understand her life," she said.
"Through her art, she starts a dialogue with us. When we truly listen to each other, that's when healing happens."
John Curtin Gallery Director, Associate Professor Susanna Castleden, reaffirmed the gallery's commitment to amplifying First Nations voices.
"We are delighted to present this ambitious project with Alice Guiness and Juluwarlu as part of the Boorloo Contemporary program, supported by Wesfarmers," she said.
"Through immersive, light-filled installations and dramatic visual rhythms, Burndud Ground is a joyful celebration of tradition, connection, and movement."
In parallel, Mai Nguyễn-Long's installation, Doba Nation, presents a deeply personal exploration of identity, trauma, and cultural displacement.
The exhibition features numerous hand-formed ceramic sculptures, including the distinctive Vomit Girl figures—symbolic representations of voicelessness and cultural erasure.
Drawing from the spiritual motifs of her father's southern Vietnamese heritage and the folkloric traditions of northern Ä'ình wood carvings, Nguyễn-Long merges ancestral symbolism with a contemporary lens.
Curator Lia McKnight described Ms Nguyễn-Long's work as a mesmeric installation of darkly playful ceramic figures and forms, harnessing the transformative potential of clay to interrogate themes of colonisation, memory, and reconciliation.
"This new body of work is a powerful reflection on identity and collective trauma through a deeply personal lens," Ms McKnight said.
Alongside these exhibitions, visitors are invited to experience Carrolup Kattidj Nagar (Peaceful Quiet Reflection), featuring selected works from the Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork.
This collection showcases paintings by Noongar children from the 1940s, offering a poignant reminder of resilience and artistic expression in the face of hardship.
The exhibition will open on February 7 until April 17. Entry is free.
More information is available via John Curtin Gallery's website or the Perth Festival program.