A weekend art market reveals the ‘here and now’ of south-eastern Aboriginal Australian art
From carving and shellwork to food and photography, South East brings audiences face-to-face with contemporary artists and time honoured practices
Hayley Millar Baker is a Gunditjmara woman from southwest Victoria whose photography-based practice explores connections to Country and identity through many-layered photo assemblagesUntitled (Look mate, I don't mind a tidal wave as long as it doesn't knock over my esky), 2017, inkjet print on paper, 55 x 55 cm/Courtesy of the artist
Ngemba carver and artist Andrew Snelgar has more than 25 years experience creating both hard and soft wood carvings of shields, boomerangs and clubs that tell contemporary storiesCourtesy of the artist and South East
Esme Timbery, a lauded Bidjigal artist and elder, draws on the traditions of shellworking that are so integral to the Bidjigal clan of the Eora nation in La Perouse, Sydney. Timbery, whose work is held in the collections of many major Australian institutions, was featured in the city’s most recent Biennale and has collaborated with the designers from Romance Was BornCourtesy of the artist/South East
Penny Evans, a visual artist based in the Northern Rivers, NSW, produces ceramics and collaged, mixed media work on paper as part of an artist practice informed by time spent in landscape and as part of a broader decolonising process. Evans’ ceramics in particular reference her Gamilaraay/Gomeroi cultural heritage, using the technique of sgraffito, with its links to the Gamilaraay/Gomeroi traditions of carving into trees, weapons, utensils, emu eggs, as well as ground carving for ceremonial purposes, communications and storytellingCourtesy of the artist/South East
Indigiearth was founded by Sharon Winsor, a Ngemba Weilwan woman of Western NSW to showcase Australian native produce at its best. Using wild harvesting where possible, Winsor’s raw native fruits, produce and materials are purchased from Aboriginal communities across the country ensuring that employment, income and education stay within the communityInstagram
The artist and jeweller Melissa Stannard, a Gamillaraay and Yuwaalaraay woman, works across uses a multi-faceted practice as a means of giving voice to stories that might not otherwise be told: from personal narratives and lived experiences to cultural and collective traumas. Combining found objects, assemblage and using the technique of lost wax casting with precious and semi-precious stones, Stannard conveys a message of hope and survival in face of history and its manifold traumas Courtesy of the artist/Instagram
Under the name Dyinda Designs, cousins Jessica Birk and Frances Belle Parker create objects that celebrate their connection to Yaegl country, its language and their family (‘Dyinda’ means ‘sister’ in Yaygirr)Courtesy of the artists/Instagram
Kent Morris, a Barkindji man based in Melbourne, creates abstract photographic work that explores the connections between contemporary Indigenous experience and contemporary cultural practices, their continuation and evolutionCourtesy of the artist and Vivien Anderson Gallery
Lorraine Connelly-Northey repurposes found materials associated with European settlement and industrialisation to create sculptural works utilising weaving techniques drawn from Indigenous culture that reference traditional objects. Widely exhibited, her work explores the dynamic between her western and Indigenous heritage as a Waradgerie womanCourtesy of the artist and the Museum of Contemporary Art
The young Boon Wurrung and Barkindji artist Mitch Mahoney, a recipient of the National Gallery of Australia’s arts scholarship, burns his designs into possum pelts, kangaroo skins and woodCourtesy of the artist/Leah Snyder
The artist Helena Geiger combines her passion for Indigenous art and fabric through the traditional craft of wax resistant Batik dyeing, creating textiles that draw from the shapes, colour and patterns that occur naturally in AustraliaCourtesy of the artist
Opening this coming weekend, a new art market will celebrate the creative diversity of the Indigenous communities who live and work in the south east region of Australia. Named for that broad and diverse expanse of land, South East is driven by the impetus to reveal the ‘here and now’ of a region that’s rich in artistic expression, with many participants conflating traditional craft practices with contemporary artistic modes. In the gallery above, get to know 11 of the artists and craftspeople participating in South East whose work straddles photo collage, food, sculpture, jewellery, textiles, carving and shellwork.
Co-curated by Hetti Perkins and Jonathan Jones with an aim to showcase the cultural heritage of south-eastern Aboriginal Australia, South East will feature over 30 stalls showcasing the wares of artists and creative collectives both established and emerging. Stalls will canvas a broad spectrum of creative pursuits that draw from traditional and contemporary practices, including weaving, literature, ceramics, carving, photography, painting, shellwork and textiles, and many will be fronted by the creatives themselves, giving visitors a chance to not only meet the makers and learn firsthand the stories behind their extraordinarily diverse practices, but to directly support their practice and prolong the lifespan of time-honoured craftsmanship by purchasing work.
The South East Aboriginal Arts Market takes from October 6-7 in gadigal country at Carriageworks from 10am. entry is free. More information is available here
Tile image: Penny Evans/Courtesy of the artist Cover image: Zan Wimberley
