HEALESVILLE.- TarraWarra Museum of Art opened its group exhibition, Inside the Mirage, shaped by the imaginative and philosophical worlds of artists Ian Fairweather (1891–1974) and John Young (b. 1956), curated by TarraWarra Museum of Art Curator James Lynch.

Drawing these two practices into dialogue, the exhibition, on view at the Museum from 25 July until 1 November 2026, highlights new perspectives and connections between Australian art history and the present.

Alongside Young and Fairweather, the exhibition features nine contemporary artists from across Australia whose works foreground shared and inherited stories as their basis, revealing the intertwined histories and complex cultural narratives that shape our contemporary identities and worldviews.

A nostalgia for the past can be hallucinatory, a warping of time and space. Inside the Mirage explores the ways artists navigate the complex contradictions of cross-cultural existence and the weight of lives lived between multiple worlds.

Since 2015, Naarm/Melbourne-based artist John Young has engaged in an ongoing artistic conversation with the works of modernist Scottish-Australian artist Ian Fairweather. His interpretations act as cultural translations, reimagining Fairweather’s engagement with the Chinese language, philosophy and poetry through contemporary painting and digital imaging.





Inside the Mirage presents this exchange as a living, cross-generational discussion, exploring the intersection of European modernism and Daoist philosophy, a synthesis that Fairweather pioneered decades earlier.

The exhibition prominently features pairings of works by the two artists, creating a visual bridge that contextualises Young’s recent Transformation series with historical works by Fairweather from the TarraWarra Museum of Art Collection.

Inside the Mirage further expands these discussions by including nine contemporary Australian artists. Their works and practices explore the ways relationships between artists, timelines, geographic and cultural contexts, and the stories we tell become entangled.

The exhibition presents significant works by some of Australia’s leading practitioners of the past three decades, including Gordon Bennett, Mikala Dwyer, Narelle Jubelin, Michael Stevenson, My Le Thi, Zhou Xiaoping and Johnny Bulunbulun, Meng Yu Yan and William Yang.

The exhibition includes the presentation of twelve rarely seen paintings by one of Australia’s most enigmatic artists, Ian Fairweather. TarraWarra Museum of Art’s Fairweather works are seen in combination with artworks on loan from the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Queensland Art Gallery.

James Lynch, Curator at TarraWarra Museum of Art, explains: “It has been an enormous privilege to research Ian Fairweather in developing this exhibition. Despite the various hardships he faced, his life, practice and creative research interests were so forward-looking for his time, and his paintings have struck a chord far beyond his lifetime.

“His works are a cherished part of the canon. Artists from John Olsen to Aida Tomescu have found inspiration in Fairweather’s work from his time living in Darwin, Cairns, Melbourne and Bribie Island; his unique artistic legacy continues.

“John Young is exemplary in this regard, keeping Fairweather’s story alive and current through his own painting process.

“This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of project: putting into context Fairweather’s rarely seen works alongside a whole new generation of contemporary Australian artists, traversing many different worlds and life experiences, to expand and reflect on Fairweather’s appreciation for cultural dialogue and exchange.”

Lynch continues: “Across diasporas, time and place, Inside the Mirage weaves loose threads together to humanise the mythical and to generate new narratives of social belonging, inviting us to reimagine our relationships with one another and the worlds we share.”

A significant accompanying publication will bring together essays offering new scholarship and critical insight into the exhibition’s themes. Contributors include the exhibition curator James Lynch; Dr Jacqueline Lo, Director of the Indo-Pacific Research Centre at Murdoch University, Western Australia; and Genevieve Trail, art historian and Senior Tutor at the University of Melbourne.

TarraWarra Museum of Art Director Dr Victoria Lynn observes: “The works by Ian Fairweather in this exhibition are as fresh and dynamic as they were when they were first made. The Museum owns twelve works by this significant Australian modernist.

“They are brought to life through a scintillating juxtaposition with John Young and nine Australian artists, some also represented by works from our Collection, demonstrating the importance of cross-cultural entanglements in the worlds that artists create.”