Spinifex (Triodia) is a native grass that grows abundantly in the arid landscape of northwest Queensland, the homeland of senior Indigenous artist Shirley Macnamara. An extremely tough and resilient plant, spinifex has been used in traditional Indigenous culture for thousands of years, and has various structural, ornamental, medicinal and ceremonial functions. Spinifex is the material of choice for Macnamara, who twists, coils and weaves the grass to create forms that are at once delicate, intricate, complex and subtle.
Born in 1949, Macnamara grew up on a cattle station, and has always had a close relationship to the land. With a strong desire to make work born of her country, she has developed an artistic practice that addresses political, cultural and environmental issues, as well as telling personal stories. In addition to spinifex, Macnamara often uses other materials sourced from the natural environment, including kangaroo bone, emu feathers, seeds and natural ochres.
Layered threads, at the UQ Art Museum, is a well-earned solo exhibition for the artist, who has received much critical recognition in recent years. The exhibition features Macnamara’s distinctive sculptural works as well as a series of photographs taken by the artist of the native spinifex landscape. Macnamara’s woven vessel Nyurruga Muulawaddi, which won the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award at the 34th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2017, will be shown.
Layered threads is presented at the UQ Art Museum alongside Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial and a solo exhibition by Brisbane-based Waanyi artist Judy Watson.
Layered threads
Shirley Macnamara
UQ Art Museum
18 August—25 November
65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art is an extraordinary account of the unique art of this continent, published alongside a landmark exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art. Necessary and urgent, it tells the story of Indigenous Australian art; a new art history unlike anything we’ve seen. For Jane O’Sullivan, it’s a remarkable and must-read book.
In a new series of illustrated postcards available as a free gift with purchase only at the Art Guide Bookstore, Oslo Davis takes on classic and contemporary art terms and genres and reimagines what they could be referring to.
With so much to choose from, we’ve rounded up the major summer exhibitions in each capital city, open all summer long. Spanning Yayoi Kusama, Magritte, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, and many more.
About Face is a smart piece of marketing. The new book on portrait painting from Australia and New Zealand has a mission to change buyers’ minds about the field. But as Jane O’Sullivan discovers, any sales pitch wears thin if it’s repeated often enough, and the close attention to how portrait painting is received by the market means that other important conversations fade to the background.
Ahead of the National Gallery of Victoria’s major retrospective on singular Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, we invited four artists to respond to the influence of Kusama on their own practice—and meditate on what her work means to them.
Whether beloved pets or superstitious omens, animals have always existed in art. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia’s latest exhibition is paying tribute to two of the most beloved animal figures: cats and dogs.
