From cave walls to ancient tombs, Renaissance frescos to contemporary film, the depiction of mother and child stands as one of the oldest and most enduring themes in art history. Now, the NGV is turning its full attention to the subject with MOTHER, the most comprehensive thematic exhibition exploring motherhood ever staged by an Australian art institution.
The exhibition draws on more than 200 historical and contemporary works from the NGV Collection, traversing geographies, cultures and mediums to unpack both the universal and deeply personal experiences of motherhood. Think transformation and joy, invisible labour and societal expectation, mythology and religious iconography, and the profound connection between motherhood, nature and Country for First Nations communities.
The artist list reads as a who's who of creative voices past and present. Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, David Hockney, Patricia Piccinini, Francisco Goya, Rembrandt van Rijn and Tracey Moffatt sit alongside First Nations artists including Iluwanti Ken, Yvonne Koolmatrie and Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu, with works spanning painting, weaving, decorative arts and moving image.
Among the highlights are several NGV debuts. Ruth O'Leary's Flinders Street, 2017, a series born from transforming the photobooth at Flinders Street Station into a makeshift studio after the birth of her first child, captures the moment motherhood and artmaking moved from conflict into dialogue. Kate Just's knitted works, including a chain-mail armour crafted for her adopted child, explore resilience, loss and renewal through the metaphoric equivalency of knitting and skin. And two newly acquired David Hockney works, My mother sleeping, 1982, and My mother with a parrot, 1973-74, offer an intimate view of one of art's most celebrated figures through the quiet lens of family.
The exhibition is structured around three chapters that mirror a life cycle. Creating explores conception, birth and nurturing. Giving turns to the complexities of caregiving, invisible labour and the myths of the 'Bad Mother' versus the 'Supermum'. Leaving addresses loss, the legacy of the Stolen Generations, and the exchange of knowledge between mother and child.
Following the success of Queer and Cats & Dogs, MOTHER is the third major thematic exhibition to explore the NGV Collection through a singular, focused lens, curated by Sophie Gerhard, Katharina Prugger and Eva Christoff.
This is an exhibition that promises to move, challenge and celebrate in equal measure.
Now at the Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia, until 12 July 2026.
