Tai Snaith
PROJECT
For the Triennial, Melbourne-based artist Tai Snaith has ‘re-wilded’ the NGV Tea Room, inspired by both real and imagined gardens such as the dreamlike landscapes of French painter Henri Rousseau (1844–1910). The installation includes portraits inspired by women from art history who, for Snaith, embody creative ‘wildness’, such as French novelist and playwright Rachilde (1860–1953), Australian artist and dancer Vali Myers (1930–2003) and Irish dancer and actress Lola Montez (1821–61). Snaith offers the garden as a metaphor for culture more broadly, whereby ‘wild women’ refuse fixed identities and strict categories – much like non-traditional gardens.
Tai Snaith is the 2026 MECCA x NGV Holiday Collaboration artist and NGV warmly thanks MECCA for supporting the acquisition of work from this series.
ABOUT
Tai Snaith’s practice spans painting and ceramics. A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts in 2002, she has also created and hosted the podcast A World of One’s Own, a series of conversations between Snaith and a diverse group of female-identifying artists. Snaith has been awarded the Australia Council for the Arts Tokyo studio residency and numerous state and federal project grants, and in 2019 her commissioned work for State Library Victoria was shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards. Snaith’s work is in Australian collections including the National Gallery of Australia, State Library Victoria, Artbank, Bayside City and Banyule City, as well as numerous private collections.