Artwork recalls Queensland’s history

From dugonging (1847–1969) to mineral mining (1949–2019), industry has had disastrous cultural and environmental ramifications on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). In The tide waits for no one 2020–21 (illustrated), Megan Cope addresses these complex social histories, examining their impacts on the land and on generations of its Traditional Owners, the Quandamooka people. At the turn…

Embodied Knowledge: Queensland Contemporary Art

The survey exhibition ‘Embodied Knowledge: Queensland Contemporary Art’ at the Queensland Art Gallery from 13 August, features new and recent work by contemporary artists and collectives exploring identity, heritage and history, highlighting the vitality and diversity of the state’s artistic landscape. The exhibition encompasses large-scale sculptural installation, photography, painting, video and performance, and includes work…

Installation takes the oyster shell as its subject

Before colonisation, the coastal shellfish reefs in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay — fostered using aquaculture techniques — were a major source of food for Aboriginal people of the region. Over centuries of feasting, towering middens created from discarded shells and bones were impressive sights on the local islands and beaches of the mainland. Megan Cope’s RE…

My country: This land is mine / This land is me

‘My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art from Black Australia’ examines strengths within the Queensland Art Gallery collection of Indigenous art and recognises three main central themes: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander versions of history; responses to contemporary politics and experiences; and connections to place. These themes are expressed in the three main…