b.1977, Sydney, Australia
Lives and works in Melbourne, Australia
Sam Doctor’s art practice can be seen as an ongoing confrontation between humankind and the environment,
highlighting the fragility of mankind in the face of natural forces, exposing the Faustian side of human nature and our will to contain what cannot be contained. His practice incorporates a range of artistic strategies: video, sculpture, photography and performance. Doctor also regularly collaborates with musical composers to construct soundscapes that either complement or feature as integral parts of his work.
Doctor graduated from Sydney University, Sydney College of the Arts with Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) in 2006, and completed a Masters of Research in Visual Arts in 2013. He is undertaking his PHD. In 2019 Doctor was a finalist in the Blacktown Art Prize and in 2018 he was a finalist in the Black Prize. In 2017 he received the (APA) Australian
Postgraduate Award and was awarded the Australia Council of The Arts, Skills and Arts Development, Barcelona, Spain in 2015. He was an Artist in Residence at the 3331 Arts CYD, Tokyo in 2012. In 2011, he was offered the Janet Holmes é Court Artists’ Grant Scheme supported through the donation by Mrs Janet Holmes from the Visual Arts Court, financial assistance, Australia. Doctor has exhibited extensively in both Sydney and Melbourne, in galleries including Chalk Horse and Sherman Galleries. He has shown at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art and at the project space at CACSA, Adelaide. His work has been screened at Federation Square in Melbourne. Last year Doctor was a finalist in the Blake Prize and he was the winner of the 2022 Fischer Ghost Contemporary Art Award.
Collections: Private collections both in Australia and internationally; Artbank
