Maria Fernanda Cardoso
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise
Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD
31 Aug – 24 Nov 24
Selected Works
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Exhibition developed and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body. This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

Courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

https://www.mca.com.au

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus splendens from the Actual Size Series 2019

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus volans 2019

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus lobatus 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus anomalus 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus australis 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus cristatus 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus amabilis 

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm
Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus bubo 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus madelineae 2024

pigment print on aper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus calcitrans 2024

pigment print on paper

152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus pavonis 2024

pigment print on paper

152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus elephans 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus amabilis (female) 2024

pigment print on paper

152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus karrie 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus plumosus 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus vestpertilio 2024

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Spiders of Paradise: Maratus speciosus 2018

pigment print on paper
152 × 152 cm

Edition of 5 and 2 A/P

Exhibition Text

Maria Fernanda Cardoso is internationally renowned for using unconventional and organic materials to consider nature and its links to culture and science. Working across sculpture, photography, installation, video and performance, her work examines the connections and tensions between society and the natural world.

Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise presents new works from Cardoso’s Spiders of Paradise photographic series (2018–ongoing), alongside her acclaimed video work On the Origins of Art I-II (2016). Cardoso’s subject is the tiny Australian Maratus spider – measuring less than 5mm in size – and their unique, brightly-coloured abdomens, which form part of their elaborate mating rituals. Across a suite of large-scale photographs, the exquisite multi-coloured patterns of various species of Maratus are presented as individual portraits. Produced in collaboration with scientific imager Geoff Thompson and entomologist Andy Wang from the Queensland Museum, each image is comprised of over 1000 individual photos, which together reveal stunning nuances of colour and form in incredible detail.

Cardoso’s video On the Origins of Art I-II presents the complex courtship ritual of the Maratus at an immersive scale. It showcases the spiders’ sophisticated communication through dance and vibration, culminating in the display of their colourful patterned abdominal flap. Bringing together science, art and nature, this exhibition celebrates the beauty of the natural world and reveals the sophisticated lives of creatures not usually witnessed.

Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise is an exhibition developed and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

National tour dates and locations
- Cairns Art Gallery, QLD: 31 August – 24 November 2024
- Charles Darwin University Art Gallery, NT: 6 February – 19 April 2025
- Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW: 10 May – 3 August 2025
- Geraldton Art Gallery, WA: 23 August – 2 November 2025
- Bunjil Place, VIC: 27 November 2025 – 22 February 2026
- Orange Regional Gallery, NSW: 7 March – 17 May 2026
- Canberra Museum & Gallery, ACT: 30 May – 23 August 2026

Sullivan+Strumpf acknowledge the Indigenous People of this land, the traditional custodians on whose Country we work, live and learn. We pay respect to Elders, past and present, and recognise their continued connection to culture, land, waters and community.

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