Tasting the Divine by Joshua Searle - Opening Night

The Dax Centre is pleased to present the official opening of our new Studio Dax exhibition, Tasting the Divine, by Australian-Colombian artist, Joshua Searle. About the exhibition: Tasting the Divine presents a series of works by Australian-Colombian artist, Joshua Searle, of toucans eating ripe papaya. Rendered in lush, saturated colour, these foreground the restorative and contemplative dimension of Searle’s practice. The series emerged from Searle’s 2024 Mason Family Trust Fellowship in Colombia, where he retraced his maternal lineage for the first time and undertook a trek to the Lost City in Santa Marta. Within the dense landscape of the Sierra Nevada, the artist encountered a profound sense of reconnection — to land, ancestry and self. In these paintings, the toucan becomes a bearer of abundance. Its curved beak meets the open fruit in a gesture of sustenance rather than conquest. Through repetition and intimacy of focus, Tasting the Divine invites viewers to slow down and consider the sacred in everyday gestures. The works suggest that belonging is not found through possession, but through relationship — with culture, with community, and with oneself. In this space, divinity is not distant or abstract; it is embedded in colour, in memory, and in the simple act of being sustained. About the artist: In his practice Joshua Searle continues an exploration of memory, inheritance, and cultural reclamation through painting and sculpture. Working across both public and commercial contexts, Searle examines the diasporic condition—how identity and belonging are shaped by histories of migration, displacement, and colonisation. Drawing on his Colombian heritage, his works often revisit Pre-Columbian artefacts and museum collections, transforming them into contemporary meditations on power, loss, and the endurance of culture. We hope you can join us for the opening of this incredible exhibition on Thursday 22 October, 6:00-8:00PM. Event Information: WHEN: Thursday 22 October, 6:00-8:00PM LOCATION: The Dax Centre, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC (Ground floor of the Kenneth Myer Building) This is a free event. Refreshments will be provided. The gallery is fully accessible, with accessible toilets available. For information on parking and travelling to the gallery: Visit us - The Dax Centre