Michael Riley was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Indigenous photographer and film-maker, and co-founder of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative. A significant figure in Contemporary Indigenous Australian art

Contemporary Indigenous Australian art

Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...

, Riley's work is held by many public art institutions including the National Gallery of Australia

National Gallery of Australia

The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...

.

Life and work

Riley was born in 1960 in Dubbo, central New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, to Allen Riley and Dorothy, née Wright. His early years were spent on the Talbragar Aboriginal Reserve with his parents and siblings David, Wendy and Carol. Riley moved to Sydney in 1976, and attended a photography course at the Tin Sheds, University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

. He subsequently worked as a technician in the photography department of the Sydney College of the Arts

College of Fine Arts

The College of Fine Arts is the creative arts faculty of the University of New South Wales and is located on Oxford Street, Paddington, Sydney, Australia.- History :...

, where he continued to study.

Riley's photographs range widely, but with an emphasis on portraiture, and on symbolic, sometimes surreal images. His parents were churchgoers, and Riley appropriated the iconography of his 'creepy' religious experiences, particularly in projects such as flyblown (1998) and cloud (2000/2005).

Many of Riley's photographs and films explore Indigenous identity, experience and politics, including Malangi: A day in the life of a bark painter (1991), Poison (1991), Blacktracker (1996), and Tent Boxers (2000).

Riley's work was amongst that of eight Australian Indigenous artists selected for an architectural commission for the Musée du Quai Branly

Musée du quai Branly

thumb|225px|Musée du quai BranlyThe Musée du quai Branly , known in English as the Quai Branly Museum, nicknamed MQB, is a museum in Paris, France that features indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum is located at 37, quai Branly -...

 in Paris.

Collections

• National Gallery of Australia
  National Gallery of Australia
  The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
  
  
• Most State galleries
• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is Australia's premier institution for information about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is located on Acton...
  
  
• Dubbo Regional Art Gallery
• Macarthur College of Advanced Education
• Moree Regional Gallery
• Museum of Sydney
  Museum of Sydney
  The Museum of Sydney, on the Site of First Government House is built on the ruins of the house of New South Wales' first Governor, Arthur Phillip on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Street, Sydney. The original house, which was Australia's first Government House, was built in 1788 and...
  
  
• National Museum of Australia
  National Museum of Australia
  The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
  
  
• State Library of New South Wales
  State Library of New South Wales
  The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...
  
  
• Sydney International Airport
• University of Sydney
  University of Sydney
  The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
  
  

Films (including shorts)

• Boomalli: Five Koorie Artists (1988)
• Breakthrough series: Alice (1988)
• Dreamings: The art of Aboriginal Australia (1988)
• Frances (1990)
• Malangi: A day in the life of a bark painter (1991)
• Poison (1991)
• Quest for country (1993)
• Welcome to my Koori world (1993)
• A passage through the aisles (1994)
• Kangaroo dancer (1994)
• Eora (1995)
• Blacktracker (1996)
• The masters (1996)
• Empire (1997)
• I don't wanna be a bludger (1999)
• Tent boxers (2000)

Sources

• Brenda Croft (ed.), Michael Riley: Sights Unseen, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2006
• Australia Council for the Arts, Australian Indigenous Art Commission, Musée du Quai Branly, Art & Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney, 2006