The Shape of Things to Come

22 February – 9 June 2025

Featuring SAM collection works paired with key loans, The Shape of Things to Come presents a selection of evocative and inspiring artworks that invite us to think about the future, through both fantastical apocalyptic visions of disaster and utopian ideals of environmental sustainability and connection to place.

Borrowing its name from a 1933 science fiction novel written by H.G. Wells that imagines an alternative future society, The Shape of Things to Come provides a window into an unknown future where artists investigate ideas of progress, transformation, and adaptation through diverse mediums and bold visions. The artworks grapple with both the destruction we face and the potential for renewal, offering a powerful reflection on how art can act as both a warning and a catalyst for change.

Exhibition highlights include River, 2023, an immense linocut work from Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Bridget Hillebrand, on loan to SAM from the artist, and The Bird Agents, 2007-2008, a large-scale work on paper from artist Locust Jones.

Exhibiting artists: Penny Byrne, Penny Evans, Bridget Hillebrand, Locust Jones, Douglas Kolk, Lin Onus, John Perceval, Annika Romeyn, Anne Wenzel

Image: Anne Wenzel, Silent landscape (detail), 2006-2010, Shepparton Art Museum Collection, 2010 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award – International Artist Category, 2011. © the artist