“Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV” Exhibit (Melbourne, Australia)

 

“Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV” Exhibit

The “Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV” Exhibit looks at the persistence of images, signs or text painted or drawn on a range of surfaces in Indigenous Australia, from ancient times until now. Opened last August 17, 2019 at the Ian Potter Centre and curated by Judith Ryan, the show runs until January 26, 2021.

 

From Ground and Body to Board

From Rock Face to Bark, the first room, features a number of drawings and carvings of spirit-beings on wet season bark shelters. Here, indigenous artists have found new ways of prolonging the visual language of images and signs, by reimagining it in new and more durable art forms, such as acrylic paintings, neons, sculptures and limited-edition prints. Current bark and sculptured forms, by Jimmy Midjawmidjaw and Crusoe Kuningbal, give modern presence to this enduring visual tradition in a gallery setting.

 

Bryan, Cheska and Kyle at the From Ground and Body to Board Exhibit

From Ground and Body to Board, the second space, uncovers a very different narrative of Country whereby sacred signs and stories move, from ephemeral surfaces such as earth, rock face and bark, onto more permanent materials like composition board and canvas. 

Blind Faith (H.J. Wedge)

Intiation Tree (Robert Campbell Jr, 1981).

These non-figurative works, whose bold presence declares their value as art rather than artifact, explore a colorful chromaticity made available through the use of enamel and synthetic polymer paint.

 

Bark Shelter (Bardayal Nadjamerrek and Dick Ngulayngulay Murrumurru, 1987)

From Street to Gallery, the third space, curates a powerful body of work that critiques social and political issues through a post-colonial gaze. It marks a shift towards a more modern interpretation of Indigenous iconography using new technologies and contemporary concepts.  

Here, artists of the Western Desert transfer their designs, from the ceremonial ground and body, to the wider world of circulating images on gallery walls.

 

Initiation (Reko Rennie, 2013)

Incisions on carved trees or shields are translated by Reko Rennie and Brook Andrew into bold neon icons.  On the other hand, multimedia artist Josh Muir, together with Hannah Brontë, use video art to communicate voices of dissent, create dialogue between groups and to effect change. Hannah Brontë’s nearly 5 min. long music video Umma’s Tongue – Molten at 6000° (2017) adorns the back wall, perpendicular to Gordon Hookey’s “Sacred nation, scared nation, indoctrination” (2013), a 6.4 m. long (overall) and 1.83 m. wide oil on canvas satirical triptych.

 

Sacred Nation, Sacred Nation, Indoctrination (Gordon Hookey, 2003)

From Body to Classroom to Gallery Walls, the fourth room, celebrates a series of paintings by senior Warlpiri women from Lajamanu (a small town located in the Northern Territory). This collection of paintings, which renders permanent the body designs used within yawulyu  (women’s ceremonies), acknowledges the challenges faced by female Indigenous artists who, prior to the 1980s, were rarely given the opportunity to produce and exhibit artworks. Throughout their shared stories, the artworks create a feeling of union and harmony through repetition of patterns, symbols and color palette.

Big Rain Dreaming (Fred Jampijinpa Jigili, 1986)

Marking Time: Indigenous Art From the NGV: Level 3, Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia, Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. . Admission is free.