EXHIBITION: MENAGERIE

For the first time, Object Gallery in Surry Hills and the Australian Museum partner up for a landmark collection of contemporary Indigenous sculpture. Curators Nicole Foreshew and Brian Parkes trekked from Wilcannia, NSW, to Maningrida, Arnhem Land, and every State and Territory in between, to handpick 33 established and budding Indigenous artists and their representations of animals. The project is sophisticated and diverse and shows just how impressive – and far-spanning – the contemporary Indigenous art scene is. As Foreshew says, “it’s unlike any other”. Spread over the two venues, and using natural and found mediums like aluminium, fibre, ceramic and bronze, the 90 sculptures impart the artists’ stories, while the entire project establishes an innovative way to exhibit Indigenous culture. By the end of its two-and-a-half year run, over 200,000 people are expected to pass through the doors and this lively menagerie will no doubt change perceptions of Indigenous works as viewed inside museum walls.

Sept 5-Nov 15, Object Gallery, 417 Bourke Street Surry Hills, 9361 4511 or object.com.au and Australian Museum, 6 College Street, 9320 6000 or australianmuseum.net.au