The story of Judy Watson’s tow row transcends its physical form and speaks of cultural retrieval and community activation. This stunning work, generously funded by the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation, Cathryn Mittelheuser AM and others, is a fitting acknowledgment of the ancestor spirit of Kurilpa. Public art has the power to change the cultural…
Albert Namatjira occupies a significant place within Australian art history, being the first widely recognised Indigenous artist. His work Western MacDonnells c.1945 was the first by an Aboriginal person to enter the QAGOMA Collection in 1947. The Hermannsburg School art movement that began at the Lutheran mission of Hermannsburg in Central Australia in the 1930s,…
The dramatic group of 76 Banumbirr (Morning star poles) from Galiwin’ku, Arnhem Land resemble those used annually in north-eastern Arnhem Land ceremonies that celebrate the morning star (the planet Venus). RELATED: Read more about Australian Indigenous Art SIGN UP NOW: Subscribe to QAGOMA Blog for the latest announcements, acquisition highlights, behind-the-scenes features, and artist stories.…
Judy Watson’s work is deeply connected to concealed histories, the significance of objects and the power of memory and loss. In tow row, Watson has responded to a site close to the Brisbane River by referencing woven nets used by Aboriginal people of the area, acknowledging the traditional owners of the site and their everyday fishing activities…
Seemingly fragile and ephemeral, the fibre works in ‘Lucent: Contemporary Aboriginal and Pacific textiles from the Collection’ represent the strength, vitality and resilience of Aboriginal and Pacific societies. The Gallery is committed to acquiring contemporary textiles by Papua New Guinean, Asian, Pacific, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian artists. ‘Lucent’ combines Aboriginal and Pacific fibre…
Continue reading » “Lucent: Contemporary Aboriginal and Pacific textiles”
The overwhelming majority of Mirdidinkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori’s paintings focused on Dibirdibi Country, the Country associated with the Rock Cod Ancestor, and of her husband. In 2005 Gabori was introduced to painting, and her unique style, vision and story captured the imagination of the art world. Mixing wet paints on canvas to create tonal shifts,…
Continue reading » “Ancestral storys and personal history overlap in Sally Gabori’s art”
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.