Jemima Wyman: Deep Surface
Teeming with dizzying colour and intricate pattern, Jemima Wyman’s practice is a visually and politically charged exploration of camouflage, collective organising, democracy and dissent. Wyman is best known for creating vivid, kaleidoscopic collages composed of imagery of masked activists, coloured smoke and other recurring visual motifs drawn from her extensive archive of found photographs documenting global protests. Through her work, she contends that patterns and masking function as agents of resistance, with the power to reclaim both visibility and anonymity in the face of government surveillance and civil unrest.
Marking 30 years since Wyman began her undergraduate studies at QUT, Deep Surface is the first career survey of this Los Angeles–based Australian artist and Palawa woman. Over three decades, Wyman’s practice has traversed drawing, painting, video, performance, sculpture, textiles, and collage, with each medium exploring the porous boundaries between bodily interiority and exteriority, perception and experience, and individual and collective identity. The exhibition reveals the visual and conceptual complexity that has defined the artist’s diverse output and traces the evolution of her practice from the mid-1990s to today.
Drawing from feminist theory, protest culture, and pataphysical logic, Wyman invites viewers to consider camouflage as a way of knowing — a visual strategy for bearing witness, acquiring an expanded consciousness, and imagining new political possibilities.
QUT Art Museum is publishing a landmark monograph alongside the exhibition. Award-winning designer Evi-O.Studio has drawn inspiration from Wyman’s Propaganda textiles swatch books to shape the publication’s concept design — four critical texts are woven between vivid, patterned waterfall pages, creating a tactile, immersive reading experience. A richly illustrated chronology provides further context, tracing pivotal moments in Wyman’s career, illuminating her conceptual developments and evolving visual language.
Contributors:
Katherine Dionysius (editor)
Dr Yuval Etgar
Soph Gibson
Dr Chari Larsson
Dr Hanna Rose Shell
Vanessa Van Ooyen
Jemima Wyman
Format: 290 x 230mm
Hardcover, cloth bound with debossed cover
ISBN: 978-0-6453076-4-1
208 pages
A selection of works have audio descriptions, which are vivid verbal descriptions that make visual information accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, and offer a new perspective for everyone.
The social story illustrates a visit to QUT Art Museum with information about what to expect. This tool is designed for use by visitors requiring support to navigate through the Museum and enjoy the experience.
Sensory map (PDF, 348kb)
The sensory map shows visitors where to expect artworks with moving image and sound, and interactive displays. It also shows where to find quieter spaces, audio described artworks, and seating.
Take an interactive virtual tour of the exhibition from wherever you are in the world. Artwork labels are marked by teal tags, and audio descriptions are marked by orange tags.
PRINCIPAL PATRON
EXHIBITION PATRONS
Sarah and Simon Meers
Matthew Tobin
Beverley Trivett AM
Stuart Purves AM
Sullivan+Strumpf
Milani Gallery
PROJECT PARTNER
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its
principal arts investment and advisory body.
EXHIBITING PARTNERS
Download the Jemima Wyman: Deep Surface Education kit (PDF, 6.1 MB)
Dates
16 February 2026 - 31 May 2026
Admission
Free