THE façade of the National Gallery of Australia will light up with a work by contemporary artist Tony Albert during the coming Enlighten Festival.

His animated illumination, “I Am Visible”, draws attention to the issues indigenous people face and their representation in a national conversation. With that in mind, the NGA’s facade will include projections of young Aboriginal men, each emblazoned with red targets on their chests, along with statements of love and respect for family and community.

Nick Mitzevich, NGA director said the commission provided the artist with a new visual platform – a 50 metre illumination on the facade of the NGA building.

Albert is a Girramay, Yidinji and Kuku-Yalanji man, born in Townsville and raised in Brisbane, where he graduated from Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art.

“A target takes away any invisibility – it highlights presence,” he says. “My practice is about optimism in the face of adversity… it’s about engaging in a conversation about making this country a better place.”

The projection references Albert’s Brothers series, which includes two works of art in the NGA’s collection, “Brothers (New York Dreaming)” and “Brothers (Unalienable)”. The commission connects issues of racial profiling and miscarriages of justice. By making visible the strengths and vulnerabilities of young men in our community, Albert seeks to destabilise stereotypes and offer new images for now and our collective future.

Tony Albert’s “I Am Visible”, daily, 8pm-11pm, March 1-11.