Memory in the Making: Ken Searle’s 1998 painting of Ballarat

Join us for a conversation between art historian Dr Chris McAuliffe and artist Ken Searle about the monumental painting, ‘Ballarat’ (1998) and its powerful encapsulation of our city.

This conversation will introduce the context surrounding Federation University’s 1998 commission that culminated in Ken Searle’s Ballarat painting. It will explore his creative process, including his engagement with community members as he painted from his preferred vantage point of Black Hill, where he captured what he described as the ‘beating heart of the city’.

Through this thought-provoking painting, this conversation between Chris and Ken seeks to inspire reflection from community members about how their feel about their city and its past, present and future. This event augments the exhibition of Ken’s painting at the Eureka Centre, where it is presented alongside an interactive digital representation of the work to allow for community-generated interpretation. Both the exhibition and conversation seek to inspire community engagement to inform the ARC Linkage project, ‘Dialogue with Difficult Objects: Mediating Controversy in Museums’

Ken Searle was born in Sydney in 1951 and grew up around Cooks River, in Sydney’s south-west suburbs where he still lives today. A self-taught artist, Ken exhibited at Watters Gallery from 1976 until the gallery’s closure in 2019. He is best known for his large paintings of suburban and industrial landscapes in Australian cities. His work is held in collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria and Federation University.

Dr Chris McAuliffe is an art historian, art critic, curator and museum professional. Chris taught art history and theory at the University of Melbourne (1988-2000), Harvard University (2011-12) and the Australian National University (ANU) (2020-22). He is a past Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne (2000-13). He is currently a chief investigator in the ARC Linkage project, ‘Dialogue with Difficult Objects: Mediating Controversy in Museums’, 2023-26 – a partnership between ANU, Federation University, the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Eureka Centre.

Image: Ken Searle, ‘Ballarat’ 1998, oil on canvas, 87 x 350 cm, Commissioned with support from the Australia Council of the Arts, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body. Collection: Federation University Australia. Reproduced courtesy of the artist.