Tony Albert (born 1981) is a contemporary Australian artist working in a wide range of mediums including painting, photography and mixed media. His work engages with political, historical and cultural Aboriginal and Australian history, and his fascination with kitsch “Aboriginalia".[1]
Like Bell and Ah Kee, the use of text is essential to Albert's practice. Headhunter (2007),[8] an installation consisted of various objects Albert had been collecting for several years, portrays the past racism in Australia and puts emphasis on "the commodification of Aboriginal people for consumption by the non-Indigenous population, at a time when actual engagements with Aboriginal people were rare and predominantly paternalistic."[6]
The application of text can also be seen in Albert's photographic work such as Hey ya! (Shake it like a Polaroid picture) (2007).[9]
Albert's work has been the subject of nine solo exhibitions and over fifty group exhibitions.[13]
In June 2024, Albert's work Crop Circles In Yoga #5 as well as his large-scale artwork BEAM ME UP The Art of Abduction were exhibited in Melbourne's Federation Square as part of 'The Blak Infinite' program at the 2024 RISING: festival in Melbourne.[14]