Abstract

This thesis investigates the role of contemporary art in a world of extreme global inequality. It proposes that visual art can address issues of global inequality firstly through a practice of redistributing wealth and secondly through the means of awareness and advocacy. The research comprises various examples of art practice addressing global inequality including: a performance in which I sell everything I own and give it to the poor as an expression of philosophical and theological moral teachings on the subject; a video installation capturing the voices of both Australian’s and Zambian’s giving different perspectives on wealth and poverty; works that investigate consumerism and the link between our identity and our possessions; and a video piece that examines inequalities in the right to freedom of movement and asylum. The thesis concludes that art practice holds great potential for addressing the exacerbating issues of global inequality, a context the art world should intentionally seek to inhabit to a greater degree both for the sake of the vulnerable and for the sake of creating powerful and meaningful art.