EXHIBITION: UNROOTED
BY TRACEY LIEN
Global diaspora are as much about the land as they are about the people; the connection between culture, society, and the places in which we live and breathe. In an intimate exploration of the connection between humanity and the ground on which we walk, Columbian-born artist Bernardo Gonzalez transforms the garden gallery of Palm House in the Royal Botanic Gardens into a space that explores the healing of land and souls.
In this dynamic exhibition, Gozalez creates a world of magic and realism through the use of satellite images that invite us to fly over sites where indigenous Australians were massacred. The figurative interpretation of man’s connection to the land is also explored through a series of artworks that depict a dreamlike world, steeped in mythology.
‘Everyone in Australia is directly or indirectly the product of a global movement of people, of a global cultural broth,’ says Gonzalez. ‘The land and its scars are here to remind us all of the obligation we have to our children to leave them a land where there are no skeletons in the closet.’
Gonzalez, a former finalist in the Art Gallery of NSW’s Sulman Prize, will challenge our perceptions of our connection to Australia, and also use his works to comment on the interdependence between people and places.
Until Feb 2. The Palm House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquarie Rd, Sydney. FREE. 9231 8111.
