Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne

A new exhibition is a thoughtful examination of the lasting relationship between Asia and Australia

Jacky Cheng, Imaginary Homelands, 2025, installation view, The Neighbour at the Gate, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, 2025. Image courtesy and © the artist, photograph: Peter Morgan

Almost 60 years after former prime minister Harold Holt began to dismantle the White Australia Policy, The Neighbour at the Gate at Sydney’s National Art School Gallery presents a thoughtful examination of the consequences when good neighbours become good friends.

Street posters promoting the exhibition feature an image of a magpie. Advertising always distorts. Pardu (Tirritpa) by James Tylor, who has Kaurna and Mãori heritage, is a series of groupings of exquisite small bird daguerreotypes. Their shadowed silver surface gives the impression of antiquity, which is Tylor’s intention.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.