Melbourne Cup
2016
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Measurements
76.5 × 101.9 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased NGV Foundation, 2017
© Marlene Gilson
Gallery location
Gallery 5
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
Melbourne Cup by Marlene Gilson depicts Naarm/Melbourne’s iconic Flemington Racecourse in an early colonial context. The composition and tonality are characteristic of Gilson’s detailed figurative style, and the subject matter makes cultural memory tangible. Gilson was inspired to paint this work to draw focus to the presence of First Peoples at early colonial events such as this. She explains:
Each year during the 1800s the Kulin visited the races at Flemington to marvel at the whites dressed up, wagering money on horses and drinking to excess. The Kulin were banned from the races on the hill across the river. Every cup day when I was a child I went with my father and family for a picnic day and played in the park and as the Kulin did, we watched the Melbourne Cup race from the same hill.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Gordon, Victoria
Inscription
inscribed in black paint l.r.: MARLENE GILSON 2016
Accession Number
2017.175
Department
First Nations Australia