Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / sacred ground beating heart 1989

Judy Watson: Pulse of the earth

Judy Watson’s work including drawing, printmaking, painting and sculpture all reference an Indigenous connection to land and history. Her canvases are not paintings in the classical traditions of European art, they remain unstretched when exhibited, usually pinned to the wall as is sacred ground beating heart (illustrated). One of Watson’s bronze sculptures — tow row (illustrated)…

Conrad Martens, England/Australia 1801-1878 / Forest, Cunningham's Gap 1856 / Watercolour on paper / Purchased 1998 with funds raised through The Conrad Martens Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Appeal and with the assistance of the Queensland Government's special Centenary Fund / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

We consider depictions of the land

Highlighted in our third post on your Australian Art Collection reimagined are works which are included in the chronological ‘spine’ along the back wall of the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Galleries. Adjacent to Dale Harding’s wall commission view works from both the European landscape tradition and representations of country by Aboriginal artists. DELVE DEEPER: KNOW BRISBANE…

The story of Judy Watson’s ‘tow row’

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 landscape…

Judy Watson introduces ‘tow row’

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…

Judy Watson to create public artwork for GOMA entry

This morning, it was my pleasure to be joined at the Galley of Modern Art (GOMA) by Leeanne Enoch, Queensland’s Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business, for the announcement that Queensland artist Judy Watson has been selected to realise a major public artwork at the building’s entrance. The…