Jemima Wyman's retrospective "Deep Surface" surveys three decades of her work exploring DIY aesthetics of concealment, protest iconography, and political solidarity. Born in Sydney and based in Los Angeles since 2004, Wyman is known for collages of masked protesters, activist signage, and street rally residues, as seen in works like *Aggregate Icon (RBW)* (2016) and *Mass Monument (Y & B)* (2018). The exhibition highlights her early inspiration from Fluxus, Minimalism, and Yayoi Kusama, as well as the influence of Brisbane's late-1990s art scenes and postcolonial Indigenous Australian art debates. Wyman, who has Indigenous (Palawa) heritage, uses camouflage and disguise to blur boundaries between visibility and concealment, figure and ground.
The retrospective matters because it positions Wyman as a singular voice in contemporary art who merges political engagement with formal experimentation. Her work reframes protest as a creative act and challenges binary oppositions—sublimity versus indexicality, sensory intensity versus reportage—through kaleidoscopic arrangements. By focusing on how bodies declare themselves both seen and unseen, Wyman offers a nuanced commentary on social connection, embodiment, and the fragmentation of political solidarity in an era of performative outrage. The show also underscores the importance of regional art scenes, such as Brisbane's, in shaping global artistic practices.