“At the heart of this exhibition are collaborations with Indigenous artists I am honoured to learn from and paint alongside, including Tommy Day, Nickolla Clarke, Valerie Brumby, and Luther Cora." Matt Adnate, 2025

After a nine year exhibition hiatus, SHARED VISIONS marks a return to Country and to the people whose stories have always been at the core of Adnate’s practice. Presented on Gadigal land, this body of work gathers eleven portraits of First Nations peoples from across Australia—spanning the far north and west, the desert heartlands, and the south-eastern coastlines. A culmination of over 15 years of travel, Adnate documents a lineage of ancestral memory and cultural knowledge that has shaped this continent for more than 60,000 years. 

Each portrait, rendered with Adnate’s signature realism, functions not only as an individual presence, but as part of a wider constellation. It is a personal reckoning with identity and responsibility: a conscious return to elevating First Nations voices, and enabling continued storytelling that predates and outlasts colonial narratives.

A defining strength lies in Adnate’s continued collaboration with Indigenous artists whose guidance and cultural knowledge are woven throughout the show. Created alongside Tommy Day, Nickolla Clarke, Luther Cora, and Valerie Brumby; it is clear that authorship here is shared and meaning emerges through these relationships. A connective thread flows from work to work, reminding us that culture is not static, but carried—spoken, painted and then passed forward from person to person, between cultures and generations.

Adnate’s practice has always been anchored by a clear intention to honour the original custodians of the land, and to celebrate their ongoing resilience. SHARED VISIONS distils that intention. Removed from the scale of the street and public walls, the works breathe differently here. They are closer, more human—rooted in proximity and vulnerability. The portraits invite a different way of looking. Their gaze is steady, unguarded and dignified. There is no spectacle or demand, only an invitation to pause and look beyond the surface, recognising the individuality of each subject while sensing the much older story they belong to. 

In bringing these visions together, Adnate invites us to recognise the living presence of the world’s oldest continuing civilisation. This exhibition stands as an offering: a meeting of perspectives, a shared moment of recognition, and a reminder that these stories are not relics of the past, but living, enduring presences that will continue to shape this country into the future. 

Anthea Mentzalis
January, 2026

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EXHIBITION OPENING
Thursday 15 January, 2026
6 — 8 pm

RSVP