Extraordinary tales of land an sea at Bundanon

Bundanon Art Museum presents Tales of Land & Sea, three distinct projects exploring storytelling, mythological narratives, migration and the diasporic experience across the galleries of the museum. 

The projects were created by renowned contemporary artists Jumaadi and Sancintya Mohini Simpson, drawing from both personal narratives and Eastern mythologies. Also on show will be earlier collaborative works between Arthur Boyd and printmaker Indra Deigan. The projects highlight the cross-generational experiences of migration, movement across the sea, and touch on cultural connection, displacement, and belonging.

Indonesian-Australian artist Jumaadi presents a survey titled ayang-ayang, meaning “shadow-shadow”. The exhibition comprises a decade of the artist’s works and presents new works created on site at Bundanon. 

Jumaadi works across a range of mediums including drawing, painting, installation and performance, with practices informed by personal experience and political and aesthetic lineages of his homeland. A selection of Javanese artefacts have been chosen to contextualise the exhibition and expand mythologies that have influenced Jumaadi’s practice

Sancintya Mohini Simpson presents an immersive and sculptural sound installation created in collaboration with her sibling, sound artist Isha Ram Das. This exhibition is titled par-parā / phus-phusā, meaning to speak incessantly / to whisper, and reflects on colonial histories in South Asia and labour associated with the sugarcane industry. 

An immersive space and soundscape has been formed inside the gallery using three tonnes of earth from the Bundanon site, sugarcane ash, and black varnished microphones and vessels. Additionally, the exhibition incorporates new works on paper which were made in residency at Bundanon. These feature Kōlam designs, which are traditionally made from rice flour by South Indian women and placed in the entryways to homes. This is an often unseen practice of women’s labour and functions as a circular system of regenerative care. 

The adjoining gallery sees an exhibition of rarely seen works from the Bundanon collection by Arthur Boyd and West Javanese printmaker Indra Deigan. Titled Sangkuriang, Boyd’s collagraphs and woodcuts are presented alongside editions of a handmade artist’s book created collaboratively by Boyd and Deigan in 1993. The book is inspired by the West Javanese legend, Sangkuriang, which was first documented in the 15th century. Deigan’s Indonesian heritage and Boyd’s lifetime interest in mythology is reflected in the book, alongside skills and methods of artmaking. 

Bundanon Gallery also presents a significantly expanded live program alongside Tales of Land & Sea. The program features talks, workshops, concerts, and many other live works. Some highlights include Performing Shadow with Jumaadi, Telling Tales, Women of Song, Queer Stories, and Mythologies by Komang. 

Access the live program and view the full list of events here:

Until 16 June

Bundanon Gallery, 170 Riversdale Rd, Illaroo NSW

www.bundanon.com.au