Julie Rrap, Disclosures: A Photographic Construct, (detail), 1982, installation view, Julie Rrap: Body Double, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2007. Black and white archival prints, colour cibachrome photographs. Photo: Jenni Carter. Courtesy: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Warrane/Sydney.

Julie Rrap (b. 1950, Widjabul Wia-bal Country/Lismore) has been a major figure in Australian contemporary art for over 40 years. Through photography, video, performance, sculpture and drawing, Rrap examines representations of the body in art and popular culture over time.

Julie Rrap: Past Continuous features the artist’s landmark installation Disclosures: A Photographic Construct (1982) from the MCA Collection, as well as new and recent works using the artist’s body 42 years later. Since Disclosures, Rrap has used the camera as a powerful feminist tool to give agency to the model (often herself) as both the object and subject of her works.

In recent years, Rrap has reflected on the invisibility of the aging female body and how we look or look away when confronted by certain bodies. New works in the exhibition consider the body through time, addressing both its strengths and vulnerabilities.

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