William Mora Galleries is delighted to honour the work of the late Bardi Elder Roy Wiggan (1930–2015), from north of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula. A highly influential Indigenous artist, Roy Wiggan’s practice was deeply grounded in the cultural traditions of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. His work is intrinsically connected to Ilma: ceremonial objects and story systems that map the sea, Country, ancestral knowledge, and lived experience through form, pattern, and material.
Buru – An Exhibition of the Late, Great Roy Wiggan’s Ilma brings together a selection of works from 2002–2005. Buru is the Bardi term for a patrilineal estate or Country — a spiritually significant and culturally held territory carrying religious, ecological, and ancestral importance. Through bold sculptural compositions, Roy Wiggan translated these narratives into forms that evoke the movement of water, wind, and tide, reflecting both the power and fragility of the environment.
Presented in collaboration with Short Street Gallery, this exhibition positions Roy Wiggan’s practice as both cultural knowledge and contemporary artistic expression, held within a lineage of Bardi storytelling and making. Roy entrusted his vast and intimate cultural knowledge to Emily Rohr and Short Street Gallery, leaving behind Ilma that are not only cultural objects, but enduring testaments to his extraordinary talent.
Short Street Gallery and William Mora Galleries first exhibited Roy Wiggan’s work in 2002, marking the beginning of the two galleries’ longstanding collaboration.
Please join us for the opening on Thursday 4 June, 6–8 pm, to be opened by Emily Rohr, Founder and Director of Short Street Gallery.
For further information or to request a catalogue, please email us.
We look forward to seeing you ❤️
Anna
Today, I focus on Parfum Can-Can (2026) by Lisa Barmby in the Exhibition The Pull of Things.
For me, this painting is a celebration in itself — a playful reference to the cabarets of Parisian nightlife, where anything feels possible. The joy lies not only in the subject matter, but also in the vibrant striped backdrop and vivid colour palette, which heighten the sense of theatricality and delight.
“This bottle made me smile, discovered in a flea market around the corner from Paradis Latin. The Can-Can is a cliché, but still highly celebrated. You can find vintage Can-Can dresses with the actual dancer’s name embroidered on them, and every cabaret show finishes with a high-kicking, leg-splitting, spirit-raising Can-Can.” — Lisa Barmby
Lisa captures that same spirit here: sensual, humorous, nostalgic, and unapologetically alive. Lisa has 4 paintings on display in The Pull of Things, on until the end of the month.
The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday 12-4 pm.#artgallery
We warmly invite you to join us this Saturday for a unique dance performance in The Pull of Things.
Creature 2-3 I Shaggy Dragon and Erminekin
Choreographed by Katrina Rank
Saturday 16 May at 2 pm.
Compulsion, accumulation, obsession.
When can excess ever be enough?
Join us for a rare 3-part movement performance of Creature performed by award winning Katrina Rank.
Katrina Rank is the pioneer of Costumography, an environmentally responsive performance methodology using reclaimed materials, including paper and disposable materials as sites of inscription and transformation. In costumography the performer maintains constant dialogue with the materials that form its exterior surface, its 'costume'. This haptic engagement is triggered by structure, weight, look, feel, smell and textures of the materials at play. It is highly inventive, prompting the viewer to consider alternative practice models.
Creature (2025) made using this process, received a Melbourne Fringe Award for Sound and Technical Excellence and a 2026 Green Room nomination for Costume. Reworked as a 3-part installation at William Mora Galleries, the triptych will be presented as:
Sat 16 May, 2pm Shaggy Dragon and Erminekin - woven
Sat 23 May, 2pm Creature - assemblage
Duration 20-30 minutes
Please arrive on time!
Image by Robert Wagner
In The Pull of Things, three exceptional works on paper by Jo Lane are featured. Today, we focus on Thank You CB (2026).
“This work is a thank you to Clarice Beckett for her unique contribution to the conversation of art. This little city in Australia produced this wonderful artist. We all grow from each other.
While considered valueless in her lifetime, the small painting from which this work borrows — Marigolds (c.1925), oil on board, 40.5 × 30.5 cm (slides 2 & 3) — achieved $92,000 at a Deutscher and Hackett auction in 2024.
I have been inspired to incorporate it as a holder for my own eucalypt leaves, another Aussie gal’s favourite leaf.” — Jo Lane
I have been thinking of Clarice Beckett every morning this week as fog settles over the rooftops of Melbourne, creating the atmospheric landscapes for which she is so well known. Yet Beckett also painted still lifes — a quieter aspect of her practice that Jo Lane thoughtfully brings to our attention here.
The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday 12 to 4 pm. #artgallery
Mirka Mora’s newly framed oil on canvas, When The Forest Listens (1990), forms part of our current exhibition, The Pull of Things. Across this selection of works, Mirka returns to her iconic motif of the embrace, where figures hold close whatever they cherish most — a child, companion, or animal — pressed gently to the heart.
In When The Forest Listens, bodies emerge through vivid fields of colour and texture, suspended within the surrounding forest. More spontaneous and less polished than some of her other works, the painting speaks to emotional connection, family, and warmth.
A selection of Mirka’s work is now on view at the gallery as part of our current group exhibition, The Pull of Things.
The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday, 10am–4pm, and Saturday, 12–4pm.
Image: Mirka Mora, When The Forest Listens, 1990, 50 × 61 cm, oil on canvas.
#mirkamora #artgallery #contemporaryart
We are delighted to present here, Thérèse Strauss new work "Here Were Forests Ancient as the Hills, Enfolding Sunny Spots of Greenery" (2026), a painting made following repeated visits to a river in Far North Queensland.
Therese's work is deeply informed by the Australian landscape, particularly waterways and forest environments, where her observation becomes a way of thinking about belonging.
“This painting has been inspired by my frequent visits to a favourite river in Far North Queensland. It runs through the most ancient and mysterious forest. Standing here, I find myself thinking about my place in this place. As an artist and a foreigner, I'm constantly trying to understand how to portray a country that holds so much. There is a darkness here, but also a powerful and extraordinary force of nature that cannot be ignored. I understand that even though I live here, I am only a visitor to a land with such a complex history, and I am totally in awe of everything I experience.”
On view now at the gallery as part of our current show The Pull Of Things.
Image: Thérèse Strauss, Here Were Forests Ancient as the Hills, Enfolding Sunny Spots of Greenery, 2026, oil on canvas, 180 x 120 cm (detail)#oilpainting #artgallery
We are delighted to present four works by Steve Cox in the current show, The Pull Of Things: 1961 Heartthrob, Silver Queen #3, DB – Souvenir and The Precious Objects of Desire (2026). Three of the works are constructed through collage, continuing his ongoing engagement with film, music and wider pop culture as key reference points in his practice.
On the works, Steve says: “Our cultural idols become the backdrop to our youth. Remembering them feels like opening a time capsule filled with excitement and possibility. Their songs, movies, and interviews wove through our daily lives, giving us something to look forward to and someone to believe in. Our idols offered a sense of belonging, turning ordinary days into shared cultural moments. As we grow older, that nostalgia reminds us of who we were and who we hoped to become.”
Steve’s works are on display until the 28th of May.
Images :
Steve Cox, The Precious Objects of Desire, 2026, 30 x 30.5 cm, collage and acrylic on board
Steve Cox, 1961 Heartthrob, 2026, 23 x 18.5 cm, ink and acrylic on paper
Steve Cox, Silver Queen #3, 2026, 26 x 19 cm, collage, acrylic and coloured pencil on card
Steve Cox, DB - Souvenir, 2026, 30 x 21 cm, collage, acrylic and coloured pencil on paper
#collage #artgallery #popculture
Deanne Gilson completed her PhD exhibition White Haze, Black Gaze with us in 2019, as part of her studies at Deakin University. I have since admired her work, so it is with great delight that we present Karrung Dja (Camping On Country) (2023) and The King Parrot Gaze (2026) in The Pull of Things.
On the King Parrot gaze : “As a Wadawurrung woman, I paint many birds drawn from our creation story. The king parrots are my favourite. Bundjil the Eagle — our Creator — brought them into being in the most beautiful colours after the first rainbow appeared to him. The birds assisted Bundjil in creating people, forming their bodies from bark of the manna gum and clay from the rivers. The birds came before the humans. (…)” Deanne Gilson
Images: 1-Karrung Dja, 2023, 82 x 82 cm, charcoal from Marlene Gilson’s fire, 23 Karat gold leaf and acrylic on canvas.
2- The King Parrot Gaze, 2026, 80 x 80 cm, 23 Karat gold leaf, white ochre and acrylic on canvas.
#wadawurrungcountry #artgallery #contemporaryart
Creature 1–3 | Armadillo Moth
Choreographed by Katrina Rank
Saturday 9 May, 2 pm
Compulsion, accumulation, obsession.
When can excess ever be enough?
Join us for a rare three-part movement performance of Creature, performed by award-winning artist Katrina Rank.
Rank is the pioneer of costumography, an environmentally responsive performance methodology that uses reclaimed materials, including paper and disposable matter, as sites of inscription and transformation. In costumography, the performer remains in constant dialogue with the materials that form the exterior surface, or ‘costume’. This haptic engagement is driven by structure, weight, appearance, smell, and texture, prompting a highly inventive exchange that invites viewers to reconsider alternative models of practice.
Creature (2025), developed through this process, received a Melbourne Fringe Award for Sound and Technical Excellence and a 2026 Green Room Award nomination for Costume. Reimagined as a three-part installation at William Mora Galleries, the triptych will unfold across three performances:
Sat 9 May, 2 pm — Armadillo Moth (landscape)
Sat 16 May, 2 pm — Shaggy Dragon and Erminekin (woven)
Sat 23 May, 2 pm — Creature (assemblage)
Duration: 20–30 minutes
Free entry. Please arrive on time.
Image by Robert Wagner
#performanceart #contemporaryart #l
We are delighted to present Darren McDonald’s Olive & Mon from the Paris Doll series in The Pull of Things, on view until 28 May 2026.
Congratulations to Darren and all the finalists in this year’s Sulman Prize, judged by Del Kathryn Barton.
#ThePullOfThings #SulmanPrize #ContemporaryArt #ArtExhibition #DarrenMcDonald
