Exhibition: Menagerie

Having missed the site visit to Tandanya National Cultural Institute to view the Managerie exhibition which showcased 33 established and emerging artists, I went along today to see the variety of sculptural works depicting animals, which were contemporary Australian art, craft and design. It showed a variety of animals/ insects which held greater meanings to them by the way they had been created and textured. In particular I found 3 sculptures that symbolized expression and meaning. The first being an emu made from barbed wire, representing the main cause of death to the animal throughout the Australian desert. Second being 3 kangaroos made from broken China ceramic plates, each with a different colour, red, blue, and white which represented the English Union Jack and the actions of the kangaroos showed the famous action of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" which relates to refusing to acknowledge something. Lastly there was a large fish sculpture which was made from plastic bags and rubbish, reflecting the damage that landfill causes to the natural wildlife of the lands. Overall, a great exhibition with an interesting perspective of how Aboriginal Art can be applied to a wide range of mediums and natural resources.

b.mac

http://australianmuseum.net.au/BlogPost/Science-Bytes/Menagerie-contemporary-indigenous-sculpture

Neetan (Camp Dog). Craig Koomeeta, 2008

Thipe (Yellow Bird). Patrick Kunoth Pwerle, 2008