Celebrated Australian artist Tom Polo is set to unveil his first major institutional solo show, in a part of your mind, I am you, at Ngununggula, running from 28 June to 24 August 2025.
Known for his emotive and gestural style, Polo’s work dissects the subtleties of human interaction, where conversation, gesture, and the emotional essence of portraiture take centre stage. This exhibition signals a pivotal moment in Polo’s career, showcasing his artistic evolution across 15 years.
A theatrical gallery experience
Drawing inspiration from Italian theatre, Polo reimagines Ngununggula’s galleries as a stage, inviting visitors into a layered narrative experience. Divided into five acts, the exhibition moves audiences through arcs of exposition and resolution, making them active participants in its unfolding drama.
The artist will create an immersive environment, pairing his signature works with an experimental lighting score. Synchronised spotlights and floodlights will pulse through brightness and colour, revealing and concealing different elements in the space. This choreography of light transforms the exhibition into a dynamic performance, reflecting Polo’s ongoing fascination with the complexities of the human psyche.
New works and revisited favourites
At the heart of the exhibition is a new large-scale multi-panel painting, a testament to Polo’s bold and expressive style that captures the emotional nuances of human connection. Complementing it is a collection of intimate works on paper, developed during his recent residency in New York, which distill Polo’s observations and personal encounters into raw gestural impressions.
Further amplifying the theatricality of the show is a site-specific billboard installation, extending the exhibition beyond the gallery’s walls and into the public sphere.
Polo’s new pieces will sit alongside a survey of past works, restaged to form a cohesive narrative. Highlights include his billboard project from 2015, ALL I KNOW; large-scale paintings from his 2019 exhibition I still thought you were looking at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery; and clockwatch, a mesmerising video animation created for the 2022 Adelaide Biennial.
Dialogue with global names
Adding to the depth of in a part of your mind, I am you are select artworks by renowned international artists Tracey Emin, Ugo Rondinone, and Urs Fischer. Curated by Polo, these pieces bring global perspectives to the exhibition’s exploration of the unmapped territories of the mind, complementing and expanding his themes of identity, connection, and emotional exchange.
The artist’s perspective
Reflecting on the exhibition, Polo said, “in a part of your mind, I am you comes at a significant moment in my practice where I am interested to circle back on the themes and ideas that have underpinned my thinking over the past fifteen years. Over this time, I’ve accumulated an index of gestures and forms in relation to portraiture; I’ve drawn from my own acute observations, encounters, and personal histories to consider the emotional undercurrents of our relationships—to ourselves and with others—and to question where we exist, co-exist, and ultimately, coalesce.”
Ngununggula Director’s insights
Megan Monte, Director of Ngununggula, highlighted the exhibition’s unique impact, saying, “We are thrilled to present Tom Polo’s first major institutional show at Ngununggula. Polo will transform the gallery into a dynamic, theatrical space, showcasing both new and past works in a dialogue that generates nuanced and unexpected narratives, exposing the shifting borders between self and others, and intangible exchanges between people.”
An unmissable moment in Australian art
Tom Polo’s in a part of your mind, I am you promises to be a landmark exhibition for art enthusiasts and an unmissable deep-dive into the complexity of human connection. Through his thoughtfully choreographed environment of paintings, installations, and collaborations, Polo redefines the boundaries of portraiture and storytelling, forging a path into the emotional and the unseen.
Mark your calendars to witness this extraordinary theatrical experience, running at Ngununggula from 28 June to 24 August 2025. This remarkable exploration of identity, gesture, and exchange is free to all who wish to encounter the multi-faceted artistry of Tom Polo.