Patron saint of lapdogs
(2022)
- Medium
- inkjet print
- Measurements
- (148.1 × 98.3 cm) (image and sheet)
- Place/s of Execution
- Melbourne, Victoria
- Accession Number
- 2022.1563
- Department
- Australian Photography
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victoria Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2022
© Atong Atem - Gallery location
- Gallery 17
Level 3, NGV Australia - About this work
-
In this self-portrait, Melbourne-based artist Atong Atem subverts the longstanding tradition of aristocratic women posing with their lapdogs. While similarities can be drawn between the composition of Atem’s work and others in this section of the exhibition, Atem’s works challenge entrenched ideas of status as opposed to celebrating them. Posing with an Italian greyhound named Rooster, Atem, her face painted green, challenges Western beauty standards and what is considered ‘normal’.