OPENING - Fever Dream by Jackie Ryan | Hail Holy Queen by Easton Dunne

You’re invited to Fever Dream, a solo exhibition in the Main Gallery by Jackie Ryan. Opening in the Lounge Gallery is Hail Holy Queen (2023), an installation by Easton Dunne. These exhibitions are proudly presented as part of the 2024 Melt Festival, an open-access festival of Queer arts and culture staged across Brisbane/ Meanjin.

Exhibition Dates: 18 October - 16 November 2024

Opening Event: Saturday 19 October, 4pm - 7pm

MAIN GALLERY | Fever Dream | Jackie Ryan

Is self-described pop-culture adventurer Jackie Ryan one of the most superficial people in the universe, or just one of the luckiest? Does she make art, or does she simply keep company with a lot of people who are art? Sure, she’s won some awards for her work – but does she wear them well?

Decide for yourself as you enter the dazzling world of Fever Dream, Ryan’s fantastically festive new solo exhibition at Onespace. Sexy, stylish and unapologetically sumptuous, Fever Dream captures a sizzling line-up of fabulously dressed creatives as they strut, pout and pose their way across your vision. Using an array of photo-editing techniques, Ryan has transformed her stunning shots of local legends into otherworldly scenes that evoke the singular aesthetics of pop-culture touchstones like Dynasty, Get Smart and Golden Age comics. Don’t miss this incredible showcase of new work from the woman who brought you the iconic, award-winning Burger Force graphic novel series and the unhinged world of the Fanciful Fiction Auxiliary, and who literally wrote the book on the real-life kaleidoscopic extravaganza that was World Expo 88. Open your eyes and embrace the ravishing energy of Fever Dream.

LOUNGE GALLERY | Hail Holy Queen | Easton Dunne

Easton Dunne’s Hail Holy Queen applies a queer lens to a childhood time and place where, according to the artist, they “held an acute sense of [their] own queerness and transness but had no language or agency to recognise or express this identity, in part as a result of the conservative influence of religious beliefs on family and community”.

The installation simulates aspects of Dunne’s paternal grandparents’ house, located on a cattle property on Ghungalu Country. It was a location for many family gatherings, often after Sunday church services, in which the artist and their family would say the Rosary together before watching television and sharing meals.