Preface

Zane Saunders is an Aboriginal interdisciplinary artist and performer of Jarrowia, Butchulla and Gunggari descent, based in Kuranda, North Queensland. Working across performance, installation, sound, sculpture and moving image, his practice examines the intersections of spirituality, Country, memory and the enduring impacts of colonialism. Through immersive, ritualistic works, Saunders invites audiences into spaces of contemplation, challenging inherited narratives while reconnecting with Indigenous systems of knowledge and cultural responsibility. 

His performances occupy galleries, theatres and public spaces, transforming each site into experiential environments where movement, symbolism and contemporary media converge. Rather than presenting fixed interpretations, Saunders creates conditions for reflection, asking audiences to consider their own relationships to culture, belief and place. 

Saunders has presented work nationally through organisations including the National Gallery of Australia, Dancenorth and the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, where he presented Cure in Meanjin / Brisbane in 2019. He has also undertaken an Australia Council residency at Location One in New York and was commissioned by NorthSite Contemporary Arts in 2025 to create Lighthouse, a major digital façade work for Bulmba-ja. 

His latest major work, Preface, extends an ongoing investigation into Indigenous spirituality and the legacy of religious colonialism. Premiering at PUNQ Festival in 2026, the work represents the culmination of years of research, collaboration and artistic development, continuing his exploration of contemporary Aboriginal performance, installation and ceremony.