Monday morning helped launch Frances Vida Lahey‘s (1882–1968) career when the painting of two young women doing the family wash — one at the tub scrubbing, the other taking clothes out of the boiler, both surrounded with a swirl of steam — was exhibited in October 1912 at the 24th Annual Exhibition of the Queensland Art Society held at the Brisbane Town Hall (illustrated). Lahey was an established presence on the Brisbane art scene by then, aged 30, and having been exhibiting with the Society since 1902, however just the scale of the painting would have made it a stand out in the exhibition alone. Monday morning (illustrated), is now Lahey’s most famous, and one of the Gallery’s most loved works. The subject of women’s work was unusual for painters at this time, as Australian artists generally depicted the more genteel aspects of women’s lives; such as reading or sewing. Monday morning however portrays a once common sight in Australian households — wash day — in the past, Mondays were often set aside as a day for families to wash their clothes, now a recording of a by-gone era with the arrival of electricity and mechanical aids. Brisbane Town Hall Both public and critical responses to the painting were enthusiastic, and it was immediately donated to the Queensland National Art Gallery through Art Society member and Queensland poet, Emily Coungeau. Interestingly, an illustration of Monday morning in the Art Society’s exhibition catalogue indicates that there may have been an earlier version of the work, perhaps destroyed in the March 1912 fire at the Fitzroy Building in Adelaide Street where Lahey had her studio and the Art Society their rooms. The reproduction shows a compositional change from the version in the Gallery’s Collection. Of all household tasks, the weekly wash was the most arduous and the most unpopular at the time, washing machines did not arrive in most households until the 1950s, and as depicted in Monday morning, laundry facilities were simple — a wooden, metal or concrete tub, combined with a washing board and a wringer — the routine of heating water on a stove or boiling as seen here, soaking in preparation for hand-scrubbing with a bar of soap was hot, sweaty, and backbreaking, and the relentless steam in the sub-tropical heat and humidity of Queensland would have been unbearable. By painting this domestic scene, it can be said that Lahey’s aim was to shine light on women’s work as there seemed a definite need to create respect for the ordinary work of women, using it as subject matter gave status to this necessary form of service. Lahey was interested in the depiction of female figures in domestic surrounds throughout her career, however none of those images possess the authority or impact of Monday morning. Vida Lahey ‘Monday morning’ 1912 Lahey was from a moderately affluent background and the painting was heavily staged — the artist’s younger sister Esme modelled as the figure at the washtub, the other figure is Flora Campbell, a family friend. The artist's father, an Irish-born farmer and timber-miller had moved the family from ‘Sidney House’ (illustrated) some three years earlier to ‘Greylands’ (illustrated). 'Greylands', built in 1877 was part of a parcel of land originally purchased by Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior (1819-92) in 1859. On his death, the British-born pastoralist and politician left a group of Flemish and Dutch paintings to the newly formed state of Queensland. When the Queensland National Art Gallery opened in 1895, his bequest was the nucleus of our Collection. One of Brisbane’s earliest grand homes built in Indooroopilly, 'Greylands' was the residence of the Lahey family from 1910–12 where the laundry room in the painting was located, indicating that the Lahey’s enjoyed the modern conveniences for the time of piped water and built-in concrete troughs. Vida Lahey 1903 Sidney House Greylands Lahey was bom at Pimpama in 1882, a northern suburb in the City of Gold Coast, some 45km south-east of Brisbane, the eldest child in a family of eleven. Lahey trained with local art master R Godfrey Rivers at the Brisbane Technical College from 1898 until 1904 (illustrated) and in her early 20s spent two periods of study at the National Gallery of Victoria School of Arts, Melbourne, in 1905–06 and 1909; conventional training for a young Australian artist in the Edwardian era. Her instructors at the Gallery School were the distinguished academician, Bernard Hall, Director of the National Gallery of Victoria and Master of the School of Arts, and the prominent Australian painter Frederick McCubbin. Monday morning therefore follows the tradition established at the Gallery School, where students were encouraged to produce large narrative paintings. Painted in Brisbane after the artist returned from Melbourne, the work was Lahey’s version of an academic set-piece. Brisbane Technical College National Gallery School In 1915 Lahey went to London for family reasons and unofficially to further her studies but became heavily involved in war-work. Lahey painted few works on the scale of Monday morning, this outstanding work by the young Lahey remains the artist’s only surviving large-scale work of the period. Delve deeper into the QAGOMA Collection Vida Lahey 'Busy fingers' 1913 Vida Lahey 'The carters’ rest, Eagle Street' 1913 Vida Lahey 'Wattle in a yellow vase' c.1912-15 Curatorial extracts, research and supplementary material compiled by Elliott Murray, Senior Digital Marketing Officer, QAGOMA

The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art held at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art since 1993 is, as its name suggests, a celebration of contemporary art from Australia, Asia and the Pacific. With this significant exhibition series now in its 31st year and 11th chapter, the QAGOMA Research Library is releasing a relational database which provides researchers with the ability to explore the interconnectedness of the ever-growing list of individuals, groups and projects which are part of the Triennial’s history. The database provides access to the Asia Pacific Triennial Archive by way of the involvement of individual contributors ranging from exhibiting artists, performers, collaborators, curators, authors, interlocutors, and others to key Gallery staff. In developing this database, the Library aims to transform ongoing access to the archive by providing an interactive resource that fosters further learning, scholarship, and engagement with the Asia Pacific Triennial exhibition series. To mark the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial (30 November 2024 – 27 April 2025) and the release of the Triennial Archive database, the Library is highlighting its documentation of eight artists who are exhibiting in this year’s Triennial and who are also past participants. Philippines artist Julie Lluch (b.1946), who exhibited her painted terracotta sculpture Doxology 1993 (illustrated) in the first Triennial in 1993, is returning this year together with her daughter, Kiri Dalena (b.1975), who exhibited the photographic series Erased slogans 2015 (illustrated) in the eighth Triennial in 2015. This year, the two artists are part of the Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago: Roots and Currents multi-artist project which focuses on contemporary art practices from the island of Mindanao and the nearby Sulu Archipelago region located in the southernmost part of the Philippines. Julie Lluch Kiri Dalena In the second Triennial (27 September 1996 – 19 January 1997), Aotearoa New Zealand artist Brett Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui b.1967) exhibited Kahukara 1995 (illustrated) and Tekohao o te ngira 1995 (illustrated), as part of the Pacific men’s waka collective in the Queensland Art Gallery’s Watermall. The concept of the waka (‘vessel’ in Māori), often used in Aotearoa New Zealand to illustrate the country’s cultural diversity, also became a metaphor in the second Triennial for the histories, voyages and migrations of the Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesian peoples. For this Triennial, Graham is presenting five sculptures which speak to structures created by both British and Māori during the New Zealand wars. Brett Graham Also returning to the current Triennial is Mai Nguyễn-Long (b.1970), who participated as a researcher and interpreter for the second Triennial (27 September 1996 – 19 January 1997), visiting Vietnam on a research trip and translating for the Việtnamese artists while they were in Brisbane for the Triennial. For the 11th Triennial, Nguyễn-Long is exhibiting her ‘Vomit Girl’ sculptures (illustrated) which reflect her conflicted sense of identity and belonging growing up as an Australian-born daughter of a Vietnamese father and Australian mother and living in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Mai Nguyen-Long Jumping forward to the sixth Triennial (5 December 2009 – 5 April 2010), Việtnamese artist Bùi Công Khánh (b.1972) exhibited as part of The Mekong (illustrated), a project which featured works by eight artists from different generations working in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Việt Nam, and Laos. These works tapped into social and political change, the importance of religion and traditional values, memories of brutal histories, and responses to everyday experience. For the current Triennial (illustrated), the artist is showing a group of new, large-scale vases alongside his first venture into film, a tribute to the ceramic village where he works. Bùi Công Khánh Nepalese artist Hit Man Gurung (b.1986) whose work Yellow helmet and gray house (from ‘I have to Feed Myself, My Family and My Country’ series) 2015 (illustrated), in the eighth Triennial (21 November 2015 – 10 April 2016) draws attention to the thousands of workers departing Nepal for substandard conditions on development sites in the Persian Gulf has returned for the 11th Triennial as a co-curator with Sheelasha Rajbhandari of the regionally co-led project TAMBA, a survey of work by Nepalese artists, activists, and indigenous communities. Hit Man Gurung For eighth Triennial (21 November 2015 – 10 April 2016) Nomin Bold (b.1982), was one of four young contemporary Mongol zurag painters showing Labyrinth game 2012 (illustrated) and Tomorrow 2014 (illustrated)). Her deep connections with Mongolia’s cultural heritage continues in her current work for this Triennial, Life cup 2023, in collaboration with Ochirbold Ayurzana (b.1976). Nomin Bold Finally, in our list of returning artists, we have Alex Monteith (Clan Mitchell, Clan Monteith b.1977) who participated in the tenth Triennial (4 December 2021 – 25 April 2022) as part of the ACAPA Pasifika Community Engagement Project (ACE), with the work Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions 2012 (illustrated), an ongoing transdisciplinary art project that reconsiders landscapes and material removed from middens associated with tauwhare (shelters) and other sites throughout Te Mimi o Tū Te Rakiwhānoa (Fiordland) coastal and marine areas of New Zealand’s South Island, Te Waipounamu. In the 11th Triennial, Monteith is participating in He Uru Mānuka, He Uru Kānuka 2024, a collaborative installation by AWA (Artists for Waiapu Action) Alex Monteith Since its inception in 1993, the Asia Pacific Triennial has significantly shaped the art landscape in Brisbane and beyond. Its commitment to highlighting the dynamism of contemporary art practices has fostered a greater understanding and appreciation of diverse cultural expressions from across our region. As the Triennial series continues to evolve and grow so will the Asia Pacific Triennial Archive held in the QAGOMA Research Library. With the archive now more accessible through the newly developed database, a treasure trove of diverse stories, experiences, contributions, and effects can be explored from individual perspectives. This enhanced access aims not only to illuminate the narratives of past Triennials but also to encourage researchers to delve into the wealth of resources preserved in...

The 11th chapter of the Gallery’s flagship exhibition series — the Asia Pacific Triennial — opens on Saturday 30 November 2024. We look back at the circumstances of how and why ‘The 1st Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ was conceived, developed and realised… it’s a story interwoven with politics and rejuvenation. For more than three decades now, the much-anticipated, home-grown exhibition has showcased the most exciting developments in contemporary art from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific and been instrumental in shaping the Gallery and Brisbane’s identity and global prominence. Until 1982, the Queensland Art Gallery never had a purpose-built permanent home, now that it did, this was an opportunity to rethink almost everything about what its future might be. The new building is important to this story as to how a contemporary art museum might function with the phenomenon of the ‘blockbuster’ exhibition — its large temporary exhibition space was in the centre of the building and built for purpose. Queensland Art Gallery 1982 Australian state galleries were creations of the nineteenth century, and Queensland’s is one of the youngest. It collected in the longstanding and traditional areas of Australian, British and other European art, but could never compare itself with the expansive collections of the other state institutions even though there were subtle and interesting distinctions to the Queensland Art Gallery’s collections, and acquiring contemporary Aboriginal art happened relatively late in the piece. Any prospect of becoming a timid version of other state galleries made no sense. There was no logical historical connection the Gallery had with the arts of Asia. The idea of an Asia Pacific exhibition was just an idea, as the twentieth century marched on, Western museums collected less and less Asian art of its time. In 1989, after a change in Queensland’s state government, the incoming Premier took on the arts portfolio because political and administrative reform was certain, he wanted Queenslanders to think differently about themselves, and ‘that’s where the arts come in’… a sense of new possibilities took hold for an Asia Pacific exhibition. In 1990, the first Triennial was thought of as a risk, but an acceptable risk, and the concept of regional cultural diplomacy wasn’t lost either. What marks the Asia Pacific Triennial as different from the proliferation of other biennials and triennials over the past three decades is that it is institutionally based, becoming inseparable from the conduct of a well-established art museum — countries were not represented by artists — the triennial represented the work of artists who lived in particular countries. After years of planning, the first Asia Pacific Triennial opened on 17 September 1993 and ran until 5 December 1993. Its legacy endures within an art-museum context. Shigeo Toya | 1st Triennial Neil Dawson | 1st Triennial Roberto Villanueva | 1st Triennial The purchases of works of art made for the first Triennial helped consolidate the dovetailing of a major project and the way the Gallery would operate with works across all media acquired by artists from every country. Indonesian artist Dadang Christanto’s For those who have been killed 1993 (illustrated) was a moving installation that included a performance component. It was a haunting work about Indonesia’s missing people, including the artist’s father, who were targeted by previous government authorities, and the Gallery acquired it. It was also a participatory work for the public: private notes made by visitors were left under a suspended bamboo arrangement and collected daily. Dadang Chistanto | 1st Triennial The scale of the Triennial was ambitious, In some cases, the Gallery was the first major Western museum to exhibit or collect substantial work by artists such as Cai Guo-Qiang, Xu Bing, Montien Boonma (illustrated), Takashi Murakami, Lee Bul and Zhang Xiaogang. Yayoi Kusama is well represented, including a major room installation Soul Under the Moon 2002. Ai Weiwei was first collected before his near-cult celebrity status took hold. Montien Boonma | 1st Triennial The Triennial was the product of a state government cultural policy imperative, an institutional realignment and how the Gallery sought to avoid becoming a pale reflection of other Australian curatorial conduct. It never tried to match what other collections had brilliantly achieved and which it had no chance of emulating. The first exhibition opened with close to 200 works by 76 artists from South-East Asia, East Asia and the South Pacific. Perhaps the most unanticipated characteristic of the Triennial was its broader public reception — what’s fascinating is that new art, made by artists the broader public had never heard of, from cultures they often knew little about, aroused considerable curiosity. Whatever expectations people might have had — Korean artist Lee Bul’s performance Fish 1993 (illustrated) made an amusing and poignant point about cultural and gender constructs. The opening crowd knew nothing about the planned and unannounced performance. It was an ongoing sequence of clothes-swapping involving audience participation. At the end of the performance, the artist was wearing none of her own clothes. Many in the audience had to find and negotiate the exchange of their own. Lee Bul | 1st Triennial The Gallery had begun to buy contemporary Asian art. It was always planned that each Triennial — and the activity in between — would provide an opportunity to acquire work for the Collection. The exhibition became central to the Gallery’s role and reputation and it was also the cornerstone of advocacy for the case for a Gallery of Modern Art. The success of early Triennials was central to a separate purpose-built gallery to sit alongside the Queensland Art Gallery. The ambition and success of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art series convinced government supporters that the show needed its own modern gallery to do it justice. The Queensland Art Gallery was the first state gallery in the country to have a second building for contemporary art. The Asia Pacific Triennial came to represent the Queensland Art Gallery, not only as an event but...

William Bustard (18 April 1894–1973) was an important figure in the development of art in Queensland from the 1920s onwards, advocating for artists to capture Queensland’s unique light and landscape. An example of his early work, Evening light 1927 (illustrated) depicts the Brisbane Customs House. Bustard was well aware of contemporary trends and techniques and this painting rather than be highly detailed, portrays an atmospheric mood much favoured by the Australian Tonalists. Customs House today The Customs House has had minor changes and repairs over its life, however in 2024, it’s now undergoing essential roof restoration 135 years since it was built — it’s time for the aged, green copper dome to be replaced with a replica one — returning the building’s exterior to its opening days. This will dramatically alter its current appearance, however over time, the bright copper will change colour as it’s exposed to the elements returning to its green ‘patina’. If you’re heading down Queen Street, look up and you’ll see the new dome being revealed. William Bustard ‘Evening light’ 1927 An interest of Bustard was the Brisbane River and surroundings, the reflection of light and the shadows cast. Evening light is a rare work that depicts the river and the Brisbane Customs House illuminated by the moon. The myriad of different light sources emitted from the glimmer of artificial lights — the red beacon of the ferry terminal, and the yellow glow from neighboring Queen Street city buildings depicted with ghostly projections — combine with the silhouette of the fig tree whose dark shadow merges with the Customs House. The Gallery also has a linocut by Bustard, Customs House, Brisbane 1931 (illustrated) which depicts the same scene during the day. It was exhibited at the artist’s first solo exhibition in October 1931 at Griffiths Tea Rooms in Brisbane (illustrated). It’s possible Evening light was also exhibited in the same show under the listing Customs House (moonlight), and some years later it was documented in the 1934 Queenslander annual as Customs House at night. William Bustard ‘Customs House, Brisbane’ 1931 Griffiths Tea Rooms Brothers James and John Griffiths started producing Australian-grown tea in 1879, they were one of Australia’s first tea and coffee merchants. The Griffiths Brothers tea rooms which occupied much of the ground floor and part of the basement of their six-storey Griffiths House building on Queen Street (1923-24, demolished 1975) — near the intersection of Eagle Street (illustrated) and not far from the Customs House — was the venue for many art exhibitions. Customs house Customs houses were built in all major Australian ports in the nineteenth century as customs and excise duties were an important source of revenue, levied on goods from overseas, this was particularly important to Queensland where the manufacturing sector was slower to develop. The Queensland government replaced its existing Customs House on the site (illustrated) with the much grander building at 427 Queen Street, opening in 1889 (illustrated) appropriate for the growing importance of the port of Brisbane. The two-story Queen Street facade, and the three-storeys visible from the river side is an example of refined Classical style architecture with its copper-sheathed dome viewed from every elevation, whether from Queen Street or from the river at Petrie Bight. After Federation in 1901 the Customs House became part of the commonwealth government’s customs service and the building now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register is still one of Brisbane’s best known buildings. Delve deeper into the Collection William Bustard Archive William Bustard is represented in the QAGOMA Collection, and the Research Library holds the William Bustard Archive of original material, including his exhibitions book 1931–50, press clippings, photographs of his stained-glass windows and letters. QAGOMA Research Library The QAGOMA Research Library is located on Level 3 of the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). Open to the public Tuesday to Friday 10.00am to 5.00pm. visit us in person or explore the online catalogue. Access to special collections is available by appointment. Curatorial extracts, research and supplementary material compiled by Elliott Murray, Senior Digital Marketing Officer, QAGOMA