Be your own idol : cards distributed at “Come as your favourite heroine party”, Carlton, 1982.

[Melbourne : Virginia Fraser, 1982]. Three cards with embossed borders, 105 x 125 mm; rectos inscribed in biro by the artist ‘Be your own idol’; versos also inscribed ‘Complements [sic] of Small Disturbances’; in fine condition, archived by the artist in a plastic sleeve with a backing sheet bearing the artist’s typed description.

‘Virginia Fraser was an artist, writer, editor and curator who made an indelible mark on the Australian art world. Initially trained as a newspaper and radio journalist, it was her love of art that eventually overtook and became her predominant practice. Since she first began making Super 8 films in the 1980s, Fraser worked largely, though not exclusively, in light-based media: photography, small-gauge film, video and light … Following Fraser’s death in January 2021, the National Gallery of Australia wrote: ‘we remember Virginia as one of the most rigorous and sustained advocates for women’s contributions to the cultural life of this country’. She is remembered not only for her solo works, but also the many video and installation works made in collaboration with her long-time partner, artist Destiny Deacon. Together, the pair have exhibited at TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Victoria; Dong Gang Museum of Photography, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do Province, South Korea; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba; Biennale of Sydney; Documenta, Kassel, Germany; and many more. Among the numerous publications Fraser edited were A Book About Australian Women (1974), co-authored with photographer Carol Jerrems; Screw Loose: An Uncalled for Memoir by Peter Blazey (1997); and Central Business Dreaming (2008). Fraser’s work is held in major Australian state galleries, universities and private collections around the world.’ (NGV, Melbourne Now exhibition, 2023 https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/melbourne-now/artists/virginia-fraser/)

Provenance: Estate of Virginia Fraser (1947-2021)