Deadly
January 18th 2012 21:49
:
Australian First Peoples artists
Deadly: in-between heaven and hell
Eco-tourism, genocide, religion, colonisation, connection to country, and dreams of utopia are just some of the diverse inspirations behind the works in Deadly.
Eight Australian First Peoples artists have created works in response to their own perspectives on heaven, hell and the space in-between. Through installation, moving image, painting, sculpture, fibre and glass many of the artists involved have taken this opportunity to present work that extends well beyond their usual practice.
The Tjanpi Desert Weavers spent two weeks together at bush camps near Amata and Ernabella creating a collection of colourful woven carrion birds, two of which carry figures of Ngangkari (traditional healers). Paarpakani (Take flight) grew from ideas evoked by the Tjukurrpa and tales of Wedge-tail Eagle Man, Wati Warluwurru. The artists will also perform Inma at the exhibition opening.
Julie Gough's video installation OBSERVANCE provides an unusual perspective on eco-tourism and issues surrounding access to native lands. Tasmania's north east coast was the country of Julie's ancestors and now forms part of Mt William National Park, a popular site with tourists because of its outstanding beauty. To create the work Julie spent months covertly monitoring the activities of eco-tourists as they tramped through the land of her ancestors.
Peter Eisenman's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe inspired Melbourne based Yhonnie Scarce to explore notions of unjust death and removal of her own people, which has led her to create Burial ground 2011-12 for Deadly. Her seductive and confronting work involves hundreds of hand-blown and cold-worked glass objects that resemble bush yams and allude to human figures representing each year since colonisation began.
First contact and the consequences it continues to have today is also central to the work of Ngarrindjeri artist Sandra Saunders. Her powerful installation of paintings and doctored bibles, They've got God on their side highlights the particular blend of hell that Christian indoctrination has inflicted on Indigenous peoples and their cultures.
An O'Possum-skin cloak: Blackfella road is a six-metre long wall installation created from recycled metals, discarded material and other found objects by Lorraine Connelly-Northey. The work is informed by the story of an unsealed road in Swan Hill that was constructed with infill taken from sacred Aboriginal sites. The work leads us to question how many people unknowingly travel on the bones of ancestors.
A first time collaboration by Keith Stevens and Ginger Wilkilyiri, the four metre long painting Piltati 2011, narrates the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) of the sacred site of Piltati near their remote community of Nyapari SA. It reflects their cultural responsibilities as senior Anangu men: both carry knowledge of this Tjukurrpa, which involves Pitjantjatjara Ancestral Beings that are central to Anangu life and society.
The artists have developed a series of Inma (traditional song and dance) to perform at the exhibition opening with a group of six other respected elders associated with Piltati. This will be their first public presentation of Inma of this scale.
Self-taught landscape artist Beaver Lennon's involvement in Deadly saw him visit his grandfather's country in Antikirinjara SA for the first time. On the journey he travelled through the Gawler Ranges, his mother's country, northwards toward the Breakaways near Coober Pedy. These new paintings provide record of his pilgrimage home to the lands of his ancestors; and the peaceful and brooding beauty he discovers along the way.
Trevor Nickolls will also present new works as part of Deadly, continuing to explore the way in which Aboriginal culture and contemporary society merge and collide, by depicting Spirit Beings flying above city skyscrapers.
Deadly co-curator Fulvia Mantelli said, "The artists selected for this project are renowned for the way their individual practices process and navigate complex and often painful realities of personal and collective displacement and abuse, by investigating and suggesting new ways to belong."
Deadly co-curator Renee Johnson believes that the distinctive insights of the Deadly artists help us to make sense of the world: "They provide us with a deeper understanding of what it means to be Indigenous, and direct us towards a wider shared social identity. The work demonstrates their profound connection to country and culture that nourishes a sense of identity and place."
Artists
Lorraine Connelly-Northey, NSW/VIC
Julie Gough, TAS
Beaver Lennon, SA
Trevor Nickolls, SA
Sandra Saunders, SA
Yhonnie Scarce, VIC / SA
Tjungu Payla (SA):
Keith Stevens and Ginger Wilkilyiri, Nyapari SA and a collective of up to six additional artist/performers from same and nearby communities
Tjanpi Desert Weavers (SA/NT/WA):
Nyurpaya Kaika, Naomi Kantjuriny, Ilawanti Ungkutjuru Ken, Paniny Mick, Yaritji Young, all Amata SA; Niningka Lewis, Tjunkaya Tapaya, Pukatja (Ernabella) SA; Rene Kulitja, Mutijulu, NT
Co-Curators
Fulvia Mantelli & Renee Johnson
Curatorial Advisors
Troy-Anthony Baylis, Nici Cumpston & Brenda L. Croft
BOOKING DETAILS
Where: Tandanya - National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Grenfell Street, Adelaide
When: Tues 28 Feb - Sun 25 Mar
Open: Daily 10am - 5pm
Tickets: FREE
Eco-tourism, genocide, religion, colonisation, connection to country, and dreams of utopia are just some of the diverse inspirations behind the works in Deadly.
Eight Australian First Peoples artists have created works in response to their own perspectives on heaven, hell and the space in-between. Through installation, moving image, painting, sculpture, fibre and glass many of the artists involved have taken this opportunity to present work that extends well beyond their usual practice.
The Tjanpi Desert Weavers spent two weeks together at bush camps near Amata and Ernabella creating a collection of colourful woven carrion birds, two of which carry figures of Ngangkari (traditional healers). Paarpakani (Take flight) grew from ideas evoked by the Tjukurrpa and tales of Wedge-tail Eagle Man, Wati Warluwurru. The artists will also perform Inma at the exhibition opening.
Julie Gough's video installation OBSERVANCE provides an unusual perspective on eco-tourism and issues surrounding access to native lands. Tasmania's north east coast was the country of Julie's ancestors and now forms part of Mt William National Park, a popular site with tourists because of its outstanding beauty. To create the work Julie spent months covertly monitoring the activities of eco-tourists as they tramped through the land of her ancestors.
Peter Eisenman's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe inspired Melbourne based Yhonnie Scarce to explore notions of unjust death and removal of her own people, which has led her to create Burial ground 2011-12 for Deadly. Her seductive and confronting work involves hundreds of hand-blown and cold-worked glass objects that resemble bush yams and allude to human figures representing each year since colonisation began.
First contact and the consequences it continues to have today is also central to the work of Ngarrindjeri artist Sandra Saunders. Her powerful installation of paintings and doctored bibles, They've got God on their side highlights the particular blend of hell that Christian indoctrination has inflicted on Indigenous peoples and their cultures.
An O'Possum-skin cloak: Blackfella road is a six-metre long wall installation created from recycled metals, discarded material and other found objects by Lorraine Connelly-Northey. The work is informed by the story of an unsealed road in Swan Hill that was constructed with infill taken from sacred Aboriginal sites. The work leads us to question how many people unknowingly travel on the bones of ancestors.
A first time collaboration by Keith Stevens and Ginger Wilkilyiri, the four metre long painting Piltati 2011, narrates the Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) of the sacred site of Piltati near their remote community of Nyapari SA. It reflects their cultural responsibilities as senior Anangu men: both carry knowledge of this Tjukurrpa, which involves Pitjantjatjara Ancestral Beings that are central to Anangu life and society.
The artists have developed a series of Inma (traditional song and dance) to perform at the exhibition opening with a group of six other respected elders associated with Piltati. This will be their first public presentation of Inma of this scale.
Self-taught landscape artist Beaver Lennon's involvement in Deadly saw him visit his grandfather's country in Antikirinjara SA for the first time. On the journey he travelled through the Gawler Ranges, his mother's country, northwards toward the Breakaways near Coober Pedy. These new paintings provide record of his pilgrimage home to the lands of his ancestors; and the peaceful and brooding beauty he discovers along the way.
Trevor Nickolls will also present new works as part of Deadly, continuing to explore the way in which Aboriginal culture and contemporary society merge and collide, by depicting Spirit Beings flying above city skyscrapers.
Deadly co-curator Fulvia Mantelli said, "The artists selected for this project are renowned for the way their individual practices process and navigate complex and often painful realities of personal and collective displacement and abuse, by investigating and suggesting new ways to belong."
Artists
Lorraine Connelly-Northey, NSW/VIC
Julie Gough, TAS
Beaver Lennon, SA
Trevor Nickolls, SA
Sandra Saunders, SA
Yhonnie Scarce, VIC / SA
Tjungu Payla (SA):
Keith Stevens and Ginger Wilkilyiri, Nyapari SA and a collective of up to six additional artist/performers from same and nearby communities
Tjanpi Desert Weavers (SA/NT/WA):
Nyurpaya Kaika, Naomi Kantjuriny, Ilawanti Ungkutjuru Ken, Paniny Mick, Yaritji Young, all Amata SA; Niningka Lewis, Tjunkaya Tapaya, Pukatja (Ernabella) SA; Rene Kulitja, Mutijulu, NT
Co-Curators
Fulvia Mantelli & Renee Johnson
Curatorial Advisors
Troy-Anthony Baylis, Nici Cumpston & Brenda L. Croft
BOOKING DETAILS
Where: Tandanya - National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Grenfell Street, Adelaide
When: Tues 28 Feb - Sun 25 Mar
Open: Daily 10am - 5pm
Tickets: FREE
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