Tracey, from the portfolio "Michael Riley Portraits 1984-1990", 1986 (printed 2013)

Tracey Moffatt (b. 1960), artist, became widely known at the end of the 1980s through her postmodern photographic series Something More, which hinted at a sinister drama in the outback. The subsequent series Pet Thang (1991), Scarred for Life (1994, 1999), Up in the Sky (1997) and Laudanum (1998) established Moffatt's place as Australia's leading urban Aboriginal artist. Much of her work depends on interplay between image and title, hinting at disturbing situations or events which the viewer will never be able to unravel, or understand, although the series Fourth pictured individuals who had come fourth in their events at the 2000 Olympic Games. Moffatt's work in film and video has included short films, experimental video and a feature film; Night Cries (1989) was shown at Cannes, as was Bedevil (1993). Voyeur (1997) is collected footage of men getting changed in a beach carpark; Lip (1999) a collation of clips from Hollywood movies of black people 'talking back' to white authority figures. By 2004, it was claimed that after Stelarc, Moffatt was the most famous and admired Australian on the international art scene, with scores of exhibitions in America and Europe. She is represented in all major Australian galleries.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013
© Michael Riley/Copyright Agency, 2021