Jan Murphy Gallery is excited to present ‘Fake’, the first solo exhibition with Queensland-based artist Michael Cook.

In partnership with The Calile Hotel, the series of 12 large scale works will be exhibited concurrently in the gallery, and on level one of Brisbane’s most iconic hotel.

Over the last decade, Cook has produced works that interrogate the legacy of colonisation and invite the viewer to experience the other side of the coin, roles in reversal and histories re-written. ‘Fake’ follows an Indigenous couple and their adopted child on a road-trip into the central Australian desert:

“During the family’s journey, they discover their connection back to Country and culture, imbued with the importance of community. They find a release from their conditioning within Western society to find a deeper level of belonging. You could say that this reflects my journey in life, and a realisation of what is important in the ‘fake’ world we seem to be living in.” – Michael Cook, 2023

“Cook’s art asks questions without easy answers. As the narrative follows the family into Central Australia, a sense of disconnect permeates the series: the family look away from the viewer, deadpan and remote, disconnected from their psyche and surroundings, and signalling potential inauthenticity. Exploring the psychology of condition and pondering what makes an authentic life is a common trope in Cook’s work.” – Louise Martin-Chew, 2023

In 2022, Michael Cook won the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award and the Josephine ulrick and Win Schubert Photography People’s Choice Award and was also a finalist int he Bowness Photography Prize. Cook has exhibited extensively, nationally and internationally. His artworks are held in all major Australian collections, and in significant international collections.

Image credit: Michael Cook, Broken Down, 2023
Image courtesy of Jan Murphy Gallery and Michael Cook