EXHIBITION Liam Benson: Virtue Without Stain

Liam Benson: Virtue Without Stain presents a collection of works, performances, and participatory workshops by Western Sydney based artist Liam Benson exploring issues of masculinity.

The exhibition surveys Benson’s photographic work, new media, performances, and embroidery practice. Importantly, Virtue Without Stain includes new collaborative works made with local communities to provide a context for the complexity of Benson’s vision about what defines contemporary Australian masculinity.

Virtue Without Stain (Virtus sine macula) is the motto of the Russell Clan, a connection Liam Benson shares with his grandmother.

"The clan crest features a set of scales, which is my star sign (Libra). As a Libran, I feel bound to the characteristic of always weighing up both sides of opposing perspectives. I never completely settle on an opinion. For me, the concept of Virtue Without Stain is impossible because my idea of virtuous is to acknowledge that I’m capable of both good and bad. My amended clan motto would be ‘Virtue is a Stain’. "

(Liam Benson, 2021)

A BRAG Exhibition curated by Richard Perram OAM