John Young: The History Projects

Since his appropriation paintings of the 1980s and 1990s, John Young Zerunge has been at the forefront of explorations of cross-cultural identity. Between 2005 and 2019, the Hong Kong-born Australian artist completed eleven series of artworks that he came to call ‘The History Projects’. This book chronicles the development and reception of these artworks through the artist’s own reflections, and the writings and conversations that have circulated around them.

Originally a student of philosophy and painting, Young considers his art making as a research practice, working across painting, drawing and sculpture. ‘The History Projects’ take up, amongst other things, the question of how we do history, asking how we can account for the way that dominant histories determine our futures. From this, he opens spaces in which marginal voices – particularly nineteenth-century Chinese migrants and other diasporic voices – can speak.

These textual reflections – which include republished essays, email correspondence, interviews, poems, archival letters and even sermons – sit alongside extensive photographic documentation of the projects. By bringing together Young’s works from across his 14-year investigation, this book acts as an important and prescient reminder that history is unfinished business.

With contributions from:

John Young, Carolyn Barnes, John Clark, Veni-ta Poblocki, Caroline Turner, Jen Webb, Sylvia D. Volz, Dietrich Bohnhoeffer,Wolfgang Huber, Annette Simojoki, Thomas J. Berghuis, Jacquline Lo, Marc Glöde, Brian Castro, Jennifer Mackenzie, Claire Hielscher, Nadia Rhook, Cyrus Tang, Pei Pei He, Sophie Loy-Wilson, Mikala Tai, Matt Cox, Claire Roberts, Aaron Seeto