Western Australian animals have been targeted as pests by locals and farmers. Some have been exploited for profit and hunted to near extinction. Native fauna have been celebrated as emblems and studied by scientists. They have been captured in photographs and in cages. The stories in this exhibition are found in records created by government departments, including the CSIRO, Department of Defence and ABC. They show how Western Australians have interacted with the state’s unique wildlife and highlight changing attitudes towards animals and the environment. Which animal was the target of a military campaign? What now beloved animal was dismissed as an annoying rodent? Why is there a whale tooth in the national archival collection? Grab your binoculars, get out your field guide and spot your favourite animals in this expedition to the wild west.

Slipping through time and genres, York unveils the pasts we invent and the pasts we fail to acknowledge. Inspired by 200 years of real accounts, this daring new work sheds light on how our stories are told – and who tells them. Neighbour, I’ve been having trouble sleeping. Perhaps it’s that we haven’t been here very long but… do you hear it? There’s a pulse. A voice. Underneath and around. I’ve stripped back the wall paper and lifted the carpet. I’ve pulled up the floorboards and stand with a sledgehammer above the foundations. The tension is climbing up the walls and through the beams. There’s something unsettled here. Something needing to be heard.

Love in Bright Landscapes takes its title from the name of a 1986 album by former, now cult, Perth band The Triffids – a group that has contributed much to the city’s narrative of wide open roads, treeless plains and the relentless heat of a long, dry Perth summer. But this evocation of love – and with it the possibilities and pitfalls of infatuation and romanticisation – in a landscape stretched out beneath an expansive bright sky, might equally apply to an understanding of Los Angeles: a city that itself has long been steeped in lore and myth. As such, this exhibition considers Perth and Los Angeles as comparative case studies, bringing together a selection of artworks made in reference to the characters, qualities and topographies of the two west coast cities. Despite their inherent differences – in industry, scale, population, politics, public perception and self-image – and the distinct independent cultures of each city, Perth and Los Angeles share several commonalties: from indigenous and colonial histories to natural resource booms, sprawling suburbia, car culture, blazing sunsets and seamy underbellies.

Love is in the air in Athens – and it’s contagious. Besides the royal wedding, which is just days away, there are young lovers dreaming of enchanted futures together. Hermia and Lysander are besotted with one another, while Helena adores Demetrius. The only snag is that Demetrius loves Hermia - and he’s got Hermia’s father on his side. So nobody is happy. (Shakespeare wasn’t kidding when he said the course of true love never did run smooth.) Determined to be together, Hermia and Lysander meet in a moonlit forest, with plans to elope. Following hot on their heels is Demetrius, who in turn is pursued by a lovelorn Helena. But the young lovers are not alone in the forest. Nick Bottom and his hapless bunch of tradies have gathered to rehearse a play to be performed at the royal wedding. And, hidden from human eyes, a mischievous sprinkling of fairies are also in the forest that night. The three worlds collide in an explosion of comic confusion that throws the future of all the lovers into jeopardy.

Performed in-the-round, by the incredible Luke Hewitt, Every Brilliant Thing is an hour of life affirming humour. This multiple award-winning international sensation throws audience members into the story as fathers, lovers, friends and allies following one person's life in the shadow of mental illness. From the broad #4 'The Colour Yellow' to the detailed #9998 'Watching someone watch your favourite film', this joyous and intimate work shows us the miracles in life's minutiae. "One of the funniest plays you'll ever see about depression - and possibly one of the funniest plays you'll ever see, full stop" - The Guardian

This exhibition attempts to showcase works of art that reflect the depth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture, with other aspects of the Aboriginal condition. As a result, radical observations about the ups and downs of life will, at times, weave in and out of stories about Country. Equally, across the show, visitors will encounter passages of serenity, corridors of tradition, and trails that speak to the upheavals experienced by generations of Indigenous people. Balancing Act features the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists living and working across the State and Australia. Works of art by local Noongar artists such as Revel Cooper (dec.), Sandra Hill, Dianne Jones and Shane Pickett (dec.) sit loud-and-proud among those by Richard Bell, Karla Dickens, Julie Dowling and Brian Robinson to name a few of the many stellar artists in the show. Image - Richard Bell One more hour of daylight 2017-2019. Synthetic polymer paint on linen, three parts: 240 x 540 cm (overall). State Art Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia. Purchased through the Art Gallery of Western Australia Foundation: TomorrowFund, 2019. © Richard Bell, courtesy Milani Gallery, Brisbane.