Material Place: Reconsidering Australian Landscapes

Soft soil between our toes and jagged rocks underfoot. Are they fossil fuel deposits ripe for exploitation or sacred Dreaming sites?

'Material Place' gathers artists who, whether in local ochres or on Google Earth, are thinking through the materiality of the Australian landscape and its representation. Abstraction is a strategy for some artists, while others delve into how it arises as a byproduct of the law or mapping. The intricate connection between places and peoples is a focus of reflection for many of the artists, some of whom chart First Nations’ intergenerational relationships to Country.

From land rights to environmental degradation, exhibiting artists also capture how the impact of mining and fracking reverberates beyond a single site. The intertwined political and economic forces that can reshape a place for generations to come is a shared point of entry to these artworks. 

Artists
Robert Andrew, Tully Arnot, Megan Cope, Brodie Ellis, Bonita Ely, Lu Forsberg, Gunybi Ganambarr, Dale Harding, Mabel Juli, Nicholas Mangan, Yukultji Napangati and Rachel O’Reilly.

Curator
Ellie Buttrose

WHEN: 21 JUNE - 7 SEPTEMBER 2019
WHERE: UNSW GALLERIES
ADDRESS: CNR OF OXFORD ST & GREENS RD, PADDINGTON NSW 2021
HOURS: TUES TO SAT, 10AM-5PM. CLOSED PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

More information

Robert Andrew, residual 2014, Concrete, steel, electro-mechanicals and a rock, 120 x 80 x 20cm. Image courtesy: the artist. Photograph: Sam Scoufos