Menagerie: n. 1. a collection of wild or strange animals, especially for exhibition. 2. a place where they are kept or exhibited.[1]

 

Object Gallery and the Australian Museum will celebrate a unique collaboration when Menagerie: Contemporary Indigenous Sculpture opens at Tandanya this July. The groundbreaking exhibition features 33 established and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, who have each produced outstanding sculptural works depicting a variety of animals.

 

These artists, drawn from every Australian state and territory, were selected by curators Nicole Foreshew and Brian Parkes after months of research and travel seeking to expose the richness and breadth of contemporary Indigenous sculpture in Australia.

 

Menagerie includes fibre works by Yvonne Koolmatrie from South Australia; ceramics by Judith Inkamala from the Northern Territory; wood carving by Craig Koomeeta from Queensland; mixed media assemblages by Canberra-based Danie Mellor and Tasmanian artist Vicki West; work cast in bronze and aluminium by Dennis Nona from the Torres Strait Islands; and so much more.

 

Object Director, Steven Pozel, said this collection of animal sculptures reveals individual stories of both the object and maker. “This signifcant exhibition is the most extensive survey of contemporary Indigenous sculpture to tour Australia” says Pozel. “Menagerie celebrates the art and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and demonstrates the sophistication and diversity of Indigenous art, craft and design in Australia.”

 

Australian Museum Director, Frank Howarth, said the Australian Museum was excited to partner with Object Gallery for Menagerie which represents a continuation of a long tradition of working with Indigenous communities and collections. “While the foundations of these collections were based on ethnographic research, the Museum is increasing its engagement with contemporary Indigenous artists and the Menagerie collaboration has provided us with the perfect opportunity to acquire significant Indigenous works which will build upon the Museum’s existing cultural collections and highlight the vitality of Indigenous culture today.”

 

Menagerie: Contemporary Indigenous Sculpture will open at Tandanya on Wednesday 28 July at 6pm and is accompanied by a 172-page colour catalogue.

 

 

 

 

AN OBJECT GALLERY AND AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM EXHIBITION

http://www.object.com.au/menagerie/educationkits.html