Guest Work Agency to Host Panel Discussion on Art, Indigenous Cultures and the Law in London
Image: Portrait of Johnathon World Peace Bush with Columbus at Wulira, 2024. Courtesy of This is No Fantasy.
Drawing inspiration from artist Johnathon World Peace Bush's statement, 'I hold the Western and Aboriginal law in my hands for all humankind to be equal. I have to balance both laws', Guest Work Agency is hosting a panel discussion in London which brings together leading legal scholars and practitioners from Australia, Canada, and the UK. With expertise spanning art, intellectual property, Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property and the repatriation of cultural artefacts, panellists Erica Crump, Emily Gould and Lauren Gowler will introduce the challenges and opportunities arising at the intersection of art, Indigenous cultures and the law today.
This panel discussion coincides with the solo exhibition of Johnathon World Peace Bush, ‘Walking Between Two Worlds’, presented by Melbourne gallery This is No Fantasy at Frieze No. 9 Cork Street, London from 27 February to 15 March 2025.
Bush—a First Nations Australian artist from the Tiwi Islands—draws on his background, rooted in remote, traditional lands yet immersed in contemporary culture. His paintings, created using natural pigments in the three colours of Tiwi land (white, yellow, and red), reimagine anthropological images of Tiwi people alongside colonial figureheads, often depicted in statues, each covered in ceremonial ornaments and body paint design.
By incorporating Western religious imagery and references to art history alongside a Tiwi visual language that predates the Renaissance, Bush explores the tensions between the two belief systems. With wry humour and subversive wit, his work reflects on the complexities of history, heritage, and cultural identity.
The panel discussion and an accompanying artist talk will take place at Frieze No. 9 Cork Street, London W1S 3LL on Saturday 1st March, 2pm. RSVP to info@thisisnofantasy.com.
Guest Work Agency is a boutique art law and advisory firm based in Melbourne, but is international in reach. It is the first dedicated art law practice in Australia, working with artists, collectors, galleries, arts organisations, art fairs and art tech start-ups.
For more information contact us at info@guestworkagency.art.