BIOGRAPHY

Alexander Boynes acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which he lives and works, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Alexander Boynes is an Australian artist and curator based in Canberra/Kamberri. He holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from the Australian National University, originally specialising in Gold and Silversmithing, though his practice has expanded to encompass painting, drawing, photography, moving image and immersive installation.

Boynes’ work explores the intersection of landscape, industry, memory and environmental change, often focusing on Australian industrial regions in tension with the natural environment. His practice engages deeply with the ecological, social and historical forces shaping contemporary Australia, addressing themes of the Anthropocene, labour, extraction and the uneasy relationship between beauty and environmental consequence.

His work is held in major public and corporate collections including the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art (USA); Artbank Australia; the ACT Legislative Assembly; the University of Canberra; Canberra Museum + Gallery; the Macquarie Group Collection; and numerous private collections in Australia and internationally.

Boynes has presented solo exhibitions nationally, including Rising Tide (SEVENMARKS Gallery, 2026), The Edge Cannot Hold (Civic Art Bureau, 2025), and earlier solo exhibitions with Beaver Galleries (Canberra) and MAY▲SPACE (Sydney), amongst numerous others. He has exhibited in major group exhibitions and art fairs including Sydney Contemporary.

Alongside his studio practice, Boynes is an active curator and cultural producer. His curatorial projects include Between What Remains (2026), BLAZE (2025), With Nature (2025), Cageworks (2023), Come Back, All is Forgiven (2022), BLAZE (2022) and Carbon Neutral (2022), as well as numerous exhibitions developed through Canberra Contemporary and other institutions. His curatorial work often centres on overlooked practices, environmental and political themes, and the relationship between art, memory and social history.

Collaboration is central to Boynes’ practice. He worked closely with his late mother, internationally renowned artist Mandy Martin, and cellist and composer Tristen Parr on a major series of interdisciplinary works combining painting, moving image and sound, including Blast (2015), Willow Yellow (2016), Luminous Relic (2017), Rewriting the Score(2019) and Step Change (2021). Following Mandy Martin’s passing in 2021, Parr and Boynes have continued the series, producing Listening Across Time (2022) and Rising Tide (2026). These works examine landscape transformation, fossil fuel extraction and environmental urgency within deep-time Country.

Boynes has also contributed to significant cross-disciplinary projects including Arnhembrand, which raised awareness of cultural and ecological preservation in the Djelk Indigenous Protected Area, Northern Territory, through the integration of art, science and Indigenous knowledge.

He is currently engaged in major studio, curatorial and research projects exploring industrial landscapes, environmental transition and cultural memory, alongside ongoing work contributing to the legacy and scholarship surrounding the practice of Mandy Martin.