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Passage: The Art of Atong Atem
Brief Description
Passage: The Art of Atong Atem is the first major monograph on acclaimed South Sudanese-Australian artist Atong Atem. A vivid exploration of migration, memory and the making of identity, it traces her journey from South Sudan to Australia's east coast, revealing how family, storytelling and image-making...
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Format: Hardback
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September 2026
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Passage: The Art of Atong Atem
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Description
Passage: The Art of Atong Atem is the first major monograph on acclaimed South Sudanese-Australian artist Atong Atem. A vivid exploration of migration, memory and the making of identity, it traces her journey from South Sudan to Australia's east coast, revealing how family, storytelling and image-making shape her richly staged portraits.
Working across photography, video and textiles, Atem reimagines the intimacy of portraiture. Her signature framing devices—small portals hovering over her subjects' faces—invite us to look again, through a lens that is at once surreal and deeply personal. Drawing on the legacies of such African studio photographers as Malick Sidibé, Philip Kwame Apagya and Seydou Keïta, she constructs lush tableaux that probe diaspora, postcolonial identity and the meaning of home.
Lavishly illustrated and featuring new essays by leading international voices, Passage is an essential volume on one of the most compelling artists of her generation.
Co-published with the National Gallery of Victoria.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781760765620
Publisher: Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 29 September 2026
Country: Australia
Imprint: Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd
Illustration: 150 Illustrations, color
Contributors:
- Contributions by Clothilde Morette
- Contributions by Anna Honan
- Contributions by Osei Bonsu
- Contributions by Natasha Bullock
- Contributions by Atem Yaak Atem
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 235.0mm
Height: 303.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 256
About the Author
Atong Atem is an Ethiopian born, South Sudanese artist and writer living in Naarm/Melbourne. Atem's work explores the inherent intimacy of portraiture and photography as well as the role photographers take as story tellers, interrogating photography as a framework for looking at the world and positioning people in it. She works primarily with photography, video and textiles to explore migrant narratives and postcolonial practices in the African diaspora, the relationship between public and private spaces and the exploration of home and identity through portraiture.
Atem has exhibited her work across Australia, including National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Portrait Gallery, Immigration Museum, Gertrude Contemporary and Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Atem has at international art fairs including Photo London 2023, Photo Basel 2022, Unseen Photo Fair 2024 and Vogue Fashion Fair in Milan. Atem has exhibited internationally at the Tate Modern, London, Rotterdam's Wereldmuseum, Fotografiska Shanghai and with PHOTO Australia at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). In partnership with the V&A, Atem has also exhibited in the Africa Fashion exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. Atem's work is featured in a permanent exhibition at the National Maritime Museum of the Netherlands.
Natasha Bullock is a curator, writer and art historian based in Melbourne, Australia. She currently serves as Senior Curator, Photography at the National Gallery of Victoria. Natasha was previously Assistant Director, Artistic Programs at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; and Curator, Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Anna Honan is a curator and writer based in Melbourne, Australia. She currently serves as Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Anna played a major role in the development of Melbourne Now and has been a key contributor to the NGV Triennial. She was previously Assistant Curator at Head On Photo Festival.
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