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= Vernon Ah Kee =

Vernon Ah Kee (Australian-born 1967) is an Australian award-winning artist, political activist and founding member of ProppaNOW. He is an indigenous Australian with ties to the Kuku Yalandji, Waanji, Yidinji and Ggu Yimithirr peoples in Queensland, Australia and much of his art practice focuses on his indigenous identity within a modern Australian framework. He is a contemporary artist, based primarily in Brisbane, and has exhibited his art across Australia, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales and at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. He has also exhibited internationally, most notably at the 2009 Venice Biennale and the 2015 Istanbul Biennial, having been chosen to represent Australia.

Ah Kee has a very diverse art practice, using a broad range of techniques and media such as painting, installation, photography and text-based art. He is particularly renowned for his manipulation of colonial language and imagery to highlight racial issues in Australia. His exhibitions generally receive positive reviews and his works are hosted in both public and private collections across the world.

In 2003, Ah Kee, along with other indigenous artists Richard Bell, Jennifer Herd and Joshua Herd, created ProppaNOW - an organisation dedicated to supporting urban indigenous artists in Brisbane and combating cultural stereotypes about indigenous peoples

Family
Vernon Ah Kee was born in Innisfail, Queensland in 1967 to Merv and Margaret Ah Kee, but was not included in the Australian population census until 1971, like most other indigenous peoples. His family moved to Cairns, Queensland when he was a teenager and Ah Kee is noted to have been an avid drawer at this time. His parents were indigenous rights activists and had five children, including Ah Kee. He is an indigenous Australian belonging to Kuku Yalandji, Waanji, Yidinji and Ggu Yimithirr peoples in Queensland and has some Chinese ancestry from his great grandfather but little is known about him.

Education
Ah Kee started his Bachelor of Visual Art at Queensland College of Art in 1996. In his undergraduate, he majored in Contemporary Indigenous Australian art and achieved his degree by 1998. Ah Kee went on to do honours in fine art from 1999 to 2000 and then completed a doctorate in fine art from 2001 to 2007. During his studies, he had two solo exhibitions hosted at his college's art gallery as part of his postgraduate work - whitefella normal blackfella me in 2000 and con Text in 2007.

Later Life
Ah Kee currently resides in Brisbane, Queensland and has done so for most of his adult life. In 2014, his father and mother both died in a car accident and Ah Kee

Art Practice
eg. Style, central themes, etc.

Ah Kee has mentioned that his art practice is largely influenced by other indigenous artists such as Kevin Gilbert, Trevor Nickolls and Gordon Bennett, stating that "I can see my own life and history" in their artworks.

Exhibitions
Throughout his career, Ah Kee has displayed his work at 30 solo exhibitions and 100 group exhibitions, around the world.

International


 * Revolutions: Forms that turn,16th Biennale of Sydney (2008)
 * Once Removed, Venice Biennale (2009)

ProppaNOW
ProppaNOW was developed to highlight

Reviews and criticisms of his art
Ah Kee has generally received positive reviews of his art, often being praised for his 'clever' reinventions of colonial language to highlight racism in Australia.

Guardian Columnist Andrew Frost recalled that some comments posted online

Awards
In 2012, Ah Kee was awarded Visual Artist of the Year by the Deadly Awards, an association dedicated to celebrating Indigenous Australian achievement.

In 2018, Ah Kee was awarded a Visual Arts Fellowship worth up to $80 000 by the Australian Council for the Arts