Background:

This work is an artist's response to issues raised by a mass murder in Melbourne in 1987. Given access by police to forensic and other material this project took five years to complete (1988-1993) and was first exhibited in Melbourne and Boston in 1993.

This body of work came to be known as "The Peace Project" and is referred to specifically as the works done over that five year period. As well, it has become popularly used as an umbrella or generic phrase for all Kelly's works since which deal directly with human rights, social justice and reconciliation issues.

He says of the project, "When I started this, I was prepared to face the reality that it might not be exhibited in my lifetime. I was prepared after five years to quietly pack it all safely away in the event someone found it at some future date."

Since this statement, the full body of 80 works has had a major museum exhibition and the Prints from the Peace Project have been exhibitioned in Australia, America and Europe. A video, articles, catalogues and a book have helped lead to the international response to the work.

Critically well received, it was nominated for a Human Rights Award and is the first visual arts project to receive an "Australian Violence Prevention Award" from the Prime Minister. In a brochure for the Award-related exhibition Judith Dixon writes "...it points out the contribution one individual can make to help create a safer world as we are also witnessing with the attention paid to issues of tolerance raised by Stephen Spielberg's 'Schindler's List' and Thomas Kenneally's 'Schindler's Ark'. The overwhelming response [to Kelly's work] points out that the community wishes to engage in this dialogue."