Canberra Museum and Gallery is pleased to present a darkly powerful exhibition reflecting on the bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang’s exploits in late 1870s Australia and the enduring legacy of the Kelly myth in contemporary culture.

The exhibition features photographs and costumes from Justin Kurzel’s film, True History of the Kelly Gang, alongside Sidney Nolan’s iconic Ned Kelly paintings that influenced the film.

The 2019 release of True History of the Kelly Gang introduced a new generation to the conflicted legend of Ned Kelly who has long featured in the Australian psyche as symbol of anti-authoritarian defiance, fraught masculine identity, and colonial trespass.   

Adelaide born artist and filmmaker Matthew Thorne was invited by Kurzel to be present during the filming in Victoria, creating a parallel body of work that is as part behind-the-scenes documentary and part exploration of the Kelly myth.

The exhibition also includes Alice Babidge’s costumes from the film as well as iconic paintings from the Commonwealth Sidney Nolan collection of which CMAG is the custodian.

Image: The Kelly Gang at Glenrowan, Dandenong Rainforest, Victoria, 2018.