BIO:
Deb Bain-King is an artist who draws inspiration from the contrast between her upbringing in the lush forest country of the Dandenong Ranges and her current home in Naarm (Melbourne). With a career spanning nearly two decades, Deb has established herself as a artist, community activist, and curator, captivating audiences both locally and internationally.
In 2010 when she became the first video artist to have her work showcased on the prestigious Big Screen at Federation Square in Naarm/Melbourne. Her captivating projections have graced numerous locations throughout Naarm, and her projection work in the Brunswick Street Projection Festival in 2015 garnered well-deserved commendation. Deb has devised public participatory artworks that have taken place in Beijing, Palermo, Naarm, and Darwin. Her global travels have also fueled her exploration of her own immigrant origins, deeply intertwined with Australia's colonial history.
Since 2016, Deb has devoted herself to engaging with local Naarm communities, presenting thought-provoking performance works that delve into themes of immigration, colonialism, and the profound connection between people and the environment. Her commitment to amplifying these narratives and fostering dialogue comes through with collaborative efforts within communities, fostering a sense of inclusivity and shared experience.
Deb's work continues to evolve and captivate, offering a unique perspective on the interplay between place, humanity, and art. Her artistry serves as a catalyst for meaningful conversations, inspiring audiences to explore their own connections to the world and the communities they inhabit
Education
2011 Graduate Certificate, Art in Public Place, RMIT, Melbourne
2009 Masters in Fine Art, Monash University, Melbourne
2004 Bachelor Fine Art (Painting) Honours, Monash University
Exhibition experience
Solo exhibitions
2019 Here/There - Reconstructing Lost Meaning,The Booth, Scalloway, Scotland
2017 Floating,The Booth, Scalloway, Scotland
Specimen, Little...No BIG, Footscray
2014 Finding Your Way, PS50, RMIT University
The Soft Stuff, The Front
2013 Docklands Articulation, The Front
2010 People Who Don’t Know Each Other Stand in a Room, Big Screen, Federation Square
2009 Consolations of the Wall, Trocadero Art Space, Footscray
People Who don’t Know Each Other Stand in a Room, Shifted
2007 Moments of Possibility and Becoming, Span
Group Exhibitions
2023 Hidden Footscray, Footscray Community Art Centre
2016 The Commemoration: Select Documents 2, Yonder Art Space
The Arrival, Confluence: Art on Site in Docklands art walk, Melbourne
Dear Artist, Trocadero Art Space, Footscray
2015 Finding Your Way, Gertrude Street Projection Festival
Intuizione, West Projections, Footscray
2014 Welcome Home, Spazio Nour, Milan,
2012 ICONS, Kings ARI, Melbourne
2011 Concern for Nature, Hope for a Beautiful Future, Normal University School of Art, China,
2010 Wish You Were Here, Trocadero Art Space, Footscray
2008 From Mao to Now: - Beijing Olympics Cultural Exhibition, Newington Armory, Sydney
2007 Dreams of Art Spaces Collected (Projects), Project Deutscher Kunstlerbund, Berlin
2006 Plus Factors, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
Other Experience
2021 Convenor Billy Button Working Group, protecting heritage on development site
2020 Formed Whitten Oval for Everyone, campaign for community access to Whitten Oval
2019 Residency at The Booth, Shetland Islands, WASP’s Scotland.
2018 Ongoing Community Liaison with Little No…BIG Art Space Footdcray
2017 Residency at The Booth, Shetland Islands, WASP’s Scotland.
FLOAT - Small Town Transformation Project, Lake Tyers Beach, East Gippsland
Community Liaison with Little…No BIG Art Space, Footscray
Specimen - Little No Big Artist workshop program for primary school children.
Dedicated to site specific, participatory and collaborative art.
Cowwarr Art Space artist residency, Cowwarr, October
2012 Cultural Partnerships Australia linking Melbourne artists with visiting Chinese artists/curators
2011 RMIT public art project with Xian Yang Normal university, Shaanxi province, China
Street projection, Tokyo
Hobson’s bay Art in Public Place Program.
Dandenong Market Art in Public Place Program.
2010 Co-curator Forged!, community project to mark the closure of Forges of Footscray.
2007 Red Gate Residency, Beijing.
2002 Space Pork Adventures, collaborative art group
Involved in Commonwealth Games +Plus Factors program at ACCA, Clubs Project and Damp.
Awards
2015 Honourable Mention, Gertrude Street Projection Festival
2005 Winner Fresh Emerging Artist Award 2005, Sydney Art on Paper Fair
2004 Australian Post-graduate Award Scholarship
Curation Projects
2014 My House of Loneliness, Lou Molesworth, installation,The Front, Docklands
Kids Commission, Keith Wong, Installation, The Front, Docklands
The Making of Meaning, Anne Bennett, window installation,The Front, Docklands
Hardcore, Craig Cole, painting on concrete installation, The Front, Docklands
Concrete Terra, ACAB + Nikk Hertzog,aircon pipe installation, video, The Front, Docklands
Love is.. Sonia Donellan, stickytape installation, The Front, Docklands
Wall to Wall, Bill Bridges, painting installation, co -curator Erica Kurec, The Front, Docklands
The Stillness of Absence Riza Manalo, performance, The Front, Docklands, April 2014
River of Mists and Shadows Lou Molesworth & Ben Snaath, installation, performance with
walk, The Front, Docklands
Wall Work, Patricia Todarello, window installation, The Front, Docklands
Attempts at Suspension, Shelley Krycer, window installation, The Front, Docklands
2013 The Carbon Cycle, Paul Irving, installation, The Front, Docklands
Rev Heads Brendan Lee, video installation, The Front, Docklands
For Time of Time, window installation, The Front, Docklands
Radial, Aaron Martin, stripped tyres, video, The Front, Docklands
Suspended Animation, wooden suspension bridge, The Front, Docklands
An Architecture for Secrets, Shelley Krycer, Deb Bain-King, workshops, participatory event,
tissue paper installation, The Front, Docklands