Introduction

28 February - 25 May 2003, Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library of Victoria
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Kelly Culture: reconstructing Ned Kelly explores Australia's fascination with Edward "Ned" Kelly and his enduring presence within our literature, visual arts, cinema, performing arts, music and popular culture. This exhibition presents the key historical artifacts associated with Ned Kelly and his Gang together with paintings, posters, photographs, manuscripts, textiles, music and moving image. In addition to the State Library of Victoria's extensive holdings of Kelly-related material, Kelly Culture brings together major loans from public and private collections throughout Australia.

In recent years, with the release of Peter Carey's novel, True History of the Kelly Gang, the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and now a new feature film, Ned Kelly looms as large as ever on our cultural horizon. Rather than debate whether he was a villain or a saint, Kelly Culture reflects Ned Kelly's broad appeal throughout the decades and our mythologising of Kelly at different times as a larrikin, criminal, gentleman or hero.

We can only wonder whether the current fascination with Ned Kelly will, in the future, be seen as the zenith of Kelly Culture and in what new forms he will next appear.

Allison Holland and Clare Williamson, Exhibition Curators, State Library of Victoria