Dennis Golding

KAMILAROI / GAMILARAAY

In response to the collection of flints and stone tools at the Hurstville Museum & Gallery, this work highlights the impact that colonisation has had upon Aboriginal people, their traditional practice, and their lands. These stones and flints found in the St George area were once used by locals as fishhooks, blades and grooving tools and were considered an everyday life resource.

In this work, I have used epoxy resin and iron oxides to replicate the mid nineteenth century iron lace found on balconies and palisades on The Block (Redfern) where I was born and raised. I symbolise the lace work fences from memories of my childhood and recognise them as a device used by settlers to claim land and the removal of Indigenous people and culture - in protest to the continuing colonisation of this land and the impact it has had on Aboriginal people and the environment. I have intentionally shattered the European resin fences into small remnants. The broken curlicues of European flora such as ivy and daylilies, are laid to form a topographic view of the Georges River.

This work is a critique of the colonial expansion of Sydney and cues the dispossession that colonisation has caused to the Aboriginal community here.

Dennis Golding is a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist, curator and collaborator based in Sydney. Working in a range of mixed media including painting, video, photography and installation, Golding critiques the social, political and cultural representations of race and identity. His practice is drawn from his own experiences living in urban environments and through childhood memories. Golding was surrounded by art from his urban upbringing living in an Aboriginal community in Redfern (often referred to as ‘The Block’). As a young child, he often watched his mother and grandmother paint on large canvas and sheen fabrics which depicted Australian native plants and animals, cultural motifs and human figures.

Before entering his formal art training, Golding worked as an administrative trainee at Nura Gili Indigenous Programs UNSW. He later developed his professional practice in art school through mentorships with leading curators, educators and artists. Golding graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at UNSW Art & Design in 2019 and now works independently as an artist and curator. Through his artistic and curatorial practice, Golding aims to present powerful representations of contemporary Aboriginal cultural identity that inform narratives of history and lived experiences.

Remnants, 2022

Epoxy resin, concrete, dye Collection of the artist

Work Experience & Employment History

Present Independent artist and curator

2021-22 Cement Fondu - First Nations Curator/Producer

2018-19 Australian Design Centre - First Nations Creative Producer

2018 Murray Art Museum Albury - Assistant Curator

2017 Art Gallery South Australia - Assistant Curator

Group Exhibitions

2022 FREE/STATE Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery South Australia, Adelaide

2021 NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin

2021 The Future Is Here, Carriageworks, Eveleigh

2020 Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown

2020 NSW Visual Arts Emerging Fellowship, Artspace, Woolloomooloo

2019 Churchie Art Prize, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

2019 Hatched, National Graduates Exhibition, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art

2019 Subverting ‘The Intolerable Narrative’, FirstDraft, Woolloomooloo

2018 The Annual Graduate Exhibition, UNSW Galleries, UNSW Art & Design

2018 King & Mallesons ATSI Contemporary Art Prize, NSW Parliament House

Solo Exhibitions

2021 Tracing Places, Artereal Art Gallery, Rozelle

2019 Sight/Insight, Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst

Creative Projects

2022 Window Gallery, ARTBANK & The Agency, Guest Curator

2022 Sydney Football Stadium Ground, Cultural Capital, Public Art

Commissioned Artist

2021 Sydney Gateway, Cultural Capital, John Holland, Public Art Commissioned Artist

2020 Ngaliya Diyam, Granville Centre Art Gallery, Co-curator

2020 First Nations Curatorial Program, FirstDraft, Woolloomooloo, Curator

2019 In her hands, mural, Esme Timbery Creative Practice Lab UNSW, Co-designer

2019 Gadigal Mural, Australian Design Centre, First Nations Creative Co-producer

Residencies & Fellowships

2021-Present Clothing Store Artist Studios, Carriageworks, Eveleigh

2020-2021 Solid Ground, Artist in Residence, Carriageworks, Eveleigh

2020 Recipient, NSW Visual Arts Emerging Fellowship, Artspace Sydney

2019 Hatched Residency Program, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art

2020 One Year Studios, Artspace Sydney, Woolloomooloo

Education & Training

2014-2019 Bachelor Fine Arts (Honours), UNSW Art & Design

Awards

2020 Blacktown City Art Prize, Blacktown Arts Centre, Aboriginal Artist Award

2019 Aboriginal Art Award, Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Arts Centre

2018 Painting Prize, The Annual, UNSW Galleries, UNSW Art & Design

2018 Aboriginal Art Award, Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Arts Centre

2016 UNSW Art & Design Academic Excellence Award

2014-17 Scholarship Recipient for Aboriginal Art, UNSW Art & Design

Remnants, 2022 (details)

Epoxy resin, concrete, dye Collection of the artist