A T O N G  A T E M

Photography


Atong Atem is an Ethiopian born, South Sudanese artist living in Melbourne. Atem works primarily with photography and video to explore contemporary identity through portraiture and in particular the fluidity of migrant narratives and postcolonial practices in the African diaspora.

Atem explores concepts of home and identity through a critical and sentimental lens and references the works of photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita as well as science fiction writers such as Octavia Butler as her aides in navigating these liminal spaces.

Atem has exhibited her work across Australia, including MUMA Monash, Gertrude Contemporary, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and Internationally at Red Hook Labs in New York, Vogue Fashion Fair in Milan and Unseen Amsterdam art fair.

Cultural Frontline Podcast

Tina Daheley hosts a discussion on what’s next for the visual arts and how artists and curators are radically re-thinking the future of the art world.

The panel includes Israeli born artist and educator Oreet Ashery; South Sudanese artist and photographer Atong Atem; Ben Vickers, Chief Technology Officer at the Serpentine Gallery; and Tim Marlow, Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum in London and former Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts.


Artworks