Clinton Naina: Nacio in the Reign – Singing’ Of A New

Clinton Naina, Not A.I Art #1

, Acrylic on linen,

92 x 50 cm
$4000

Clinton Naina

Nacio in the Reign – Singing’ Of A New

6 August - 27 August 2026

Art Atrium 48 is proud to present Clinton Naina’s latest exhibition, Nacio In The Reign – Singing’ Of A New. Interweaving personal memory, political history and lived experience, the exhibition explores resistance, survival and the transformative power of change. Its title reimagines the optimism of the iconic song Singin’ in the Rain through the history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, established on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country in Canberra on 26 January 1972. In Naina’s retelling, singing becomes chanting, while “In the Rain” becomes “In the Reign” - a reference to the enduring struggle against colonial power and the demand for land rights, justice and self-determination.

For Naina, this history is inseparable from his own. Born in Naarm/Melbourne in December 1971, he was carried to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy as a newborn by his mother, Eleanor Harding. Her recollection of women and children linking arms around the tent, with men forming a protective circle around them as police moved in, became foundational to his political consciousness. Growing up Blak and queer, Naina learned to preserve a strong sense of self amid the pressures of dominant social and cultural narratives, shaping an artistic practice that confronts injustice, hypocrisy and denial. Across his series Passive-Aggressive, Hisitage Is A Lie, Bird and Fish Love Story and Not A.I. Art, distinct visual metaphors return to a shared foundation: the ongoing stories of resistance and survival. Through these works, the exhibition positions art as an act of responsibility, political agency and liberation.

At its core, Nacio In The Reign – Singing’ Of A New affirms art’s capacity to confront, transform and create new possibilities. As Naina writes, “through resistance and survival comes change, and through change comes life.” The Spanish word nacio, meaning “was born,” carries this sense of renewal through the exhibition.

Exhibition Opening

Exhibition Opening to be launched by:
Simon Chan AM
Director of Art Atrium / Chair of the Multicultural NSW Advisory Board

Thursday 6 August 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm

Artist Statement

One of my happiest memories was the weekend midday-movie on television as a young child. I remember dancing around the lounge room and singing along with Actor Gene Kelly, performing “Singing’ In The Rain.” It’s almost a century ago since Composer, Nacio Herb Brown and Lyricist, Arthur Freed wrote the 1929 iconic song, “Singing’ In The Rain.” Before becoming world-famous in the iconic 1952 MGM film, “Singing’ In The Rain.” Two decades later, in 1972 far from the world of MGM film production, a new creation was born on Ngunnawal, and Ngambri county, on the front grounds of then, Parliament House, Canberra.

Defiant, culturally powerful, and politically empowering, that over time has become an iconic symbol of, resistance and resilience “Aboriginal Tent Embassy,” 26th January 1972 was established. Little over a month before this monumental event taking place I, was born in Melbourne, Naarm, on Woiwurrung country December 1971. My late Mother Eleanor Harding, got wind about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, and regardless of just giving birth to me. She had to be there, with newborn in arms. A little over two decades later in 1995 while researching for a solo exhibition at Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, Warrane. When paying tribute to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, celebrating its 25th anniversary.

My Mother told me: “There was an orange tent with a sign saying Aboriginal Tent Embassy Women and Children formed a circle around the tent linking arms. Then around the outside of us the men formed a larger circle linking arms. The police arrived to remove the tent. They started to push people away and beating them to the ground. A lot of people were arrested and badly injured, but love, I just had to be there”. This was the beginning of my political awareness of my people’s marginalisation and ongoing struggle to survive in our country.

Where metaphorically, “Singing’ In The Rain,” became chanting, “Land Rights Now!! In The Reign.” Growing up blak and queer, I had to learn to adapt to the world around me fast, and at the same time not let my inner world of self be oppressed by the dominant narrative being dictated by the narrator of our ongoing oppression.

This is my guiding mantra to believe in my own power to be, and be free.
But, freedom comes with the price of responsibility.
At an early age I, challenged myself to make change in this world as an artist.
By revealing injustice, hypocrisy, and denial hiding behind God.

A continuous visual dialogue between I, and the world from which it was born.
Manifested and presented to you, by the disobedient-nonconformist-blak queen.

Such as:
“Passive-Aggressive.”
“Hisitage Is A Lie.”
“Bird and Fish Love Story.”
“Not A.I. Art.”

They all have a different metaphor but, at the very core lies a commonality.
The story of resistance and survival.

‘Because through resistance, and survival comes change, and through change comes life.’

‘Like I, “Nacio In The Reign - Singing’ Of A New.”

– Clinton Naina.
2026.

( Nacio means “was born” in Spanish. )

About the Artist

Clinton Naina, formerly Clinton Nain, is an urban Indigenous multidisciplinary artist working across painting, photography, printmaking, installation, performance, dance and storytelling. He is a descendant of the Meriam people of the eastern Torres Strait and the Ku Ku people of Cape York, with Danish and Irish ancestry on his father’s side.

Born in Carlton, Melbourne, in 1971, Naina grew up in a family deeply connected to art and activism. His mother, Eleanor Harding, was a political activist and community service worker. Naina attended his first land rights protest at one month old and was present at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra on 26 January 1972. These early experiences shaped his lifelong engagement with Indigenous sovereignty, survival and resistance.

As an abstract painter, Naina works with domestic and industrial materials, including heritage house paint, bitumen and household bleach, to interrogate the language, religion, land claims and symbols of colonial power. He came to prominence in the late 1990s with White King, Blak Queen, a series using bleach and bitumen to confront the legacy of British settlement and imposed religion on Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal peoples. His work has been described as pointed and strong, yet poignant and witty, balancing critique with cultural presence and resilience.

Naina completed an Advanced Certificate of the Arts at Northern Metropolitan College of TAFE in 1991, before graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, in 1994, becoming the first Indigenous graduate from its School of Fine Arts in Painting. He completed a Master of Fine Art by Research at COFA, University of New South Wales, in 2003.

Naina has exhibited and performed nationally and internationally, with work held in major public and private collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, and state, regional, tertiary, corporate and private collections in Australia and abroad.

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ARTWORK