Launch: Wednesday 21 May 6–8PM

A Gift of Cherry Guavas and Hibiscus Flowers reflects on the complexities of gift economies within cultural, environmental, familial, generational, and queer contexts. The work functions as a meditation on generational and familial gifts as both acts of love and survival strategies, posing them as provocations for deeper reflection.  At the heart of the exhibition are garments made from reclaimed textiles and imagery of cherry guavas and hibiscus flowers. Each one a gift passed down from the artist's kin, Mauritian ancestors and grandparents. These plants, with their delicious fruits and vibrant blooms, embody a paradox—while they offer beauty and sustenance, they also threaten the biodiversity of both Australian and Mauritian ecosystems. Through these symbols, the responsibilities tied to inheritance are explored, and the ways in which reciprocity can be practiced with intention and care.

View Room Sheet here

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Kieran Butler (They/them) is an artist, designer, and creative producer. Their practice spans across photography, textiles, performance, and graphic design, and examines inclusive and sustainable creative practices at the intersections of New Formalism in Photography, Environmentalism, Solarpunk and Patchwork movements within a trans-neuroqueer framework. Kieran aims to present provocations that spark hopeful, sustainable and inclusive visions of near futures, ways of living and proposals to get there. Ultimately, their practice seeks to contribute to the growing literature on trans-neuroqueer lived experiences, and sustainable and inclusive creative practices; Resources that were not readily accessible to them as a young person.

Image credit: Kieran Butler, I’m on a double edge of glory, I’m on a double edge with you, hanging on a moment of truth, 2025. Performance, shirts made from reclaimed bed sheets with applique and patchwork techniques, balaclavas made from artists reclaimed socks using patch work techniques. Performance documentation ACMI Nights curated by Arie Rain Glorie, ACMI, Melbourne. Performed by Anika De Ruyter and Georgia Rudd.