eX de Medici, The theory of everything, 2005. Watercolour and metallic pigment on Arches paper, 114.3 x 176.3cm. Courtesy: the artist and Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.

Beautiful Wickedness will be the most significant exhibition of work by celebrated Australian artist eX de Medici yet staged. The survey will examine the artist’s central concerns, including the fragility of life, global affairs, greed and commerce, and the universal themes of power, conflict, and death.

Exhibition highlights include de Medici’s intricate botanical studies and her dazzling large-scale watercolours, as well as her compelling portrait of Midnight Oil Nothing’s as Precious as a Hole in the Ground, 2001, and Shotgun Wedding Dress/ Cleave, 2015, a bridal gown based on Julie Andrews’s dress from The Sound of Music.

Through these wide-ranging subjects and materials, de Medici aims to seduce her viewers, and to shake them out of complacency.

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