Mabo Kara Art exhibition catalogue

Gail Mabo

A touring exhibition by Umbrella Studio contemporary arts

11 June - 29 August 2014

Umbrella Studio contemporary arts | 482 Flinders Street, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia +61 7 4772 7109 | director@umbrella.org.au | www.umbrella.org.au Umbrella Studio acknowledges the financial support of: the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, which is part of the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.

umbrella studio contemporary arts

a solo exhibition by Gail Mabo of works on paper, canvas and fabric The exhibition title Mabo Kara Art, in Torres Strait Island creole language means Mabo My Art. This is the first solo exhibition by a North Queensland Indigenous artist featured at the Australian High Commission in Singapore. Mabo has produced 29 stunning new works including; linocut prints, monotype prints, screen prints and acrylic paintings on canvas for the exhibition. The artist’s objective is to guide exhibition visitors through Aboriginal country and her Torres Strait Island home.

Last year Mabo visited remote communities around Australia with the highly successful youth performance project, Song Nation. Reflecting on her travels Mabo says “I had the opportunity to work with young Indigenous people on the Song Nation Project. My travels to the outback and my Island home and the warmth of the people have inspired me deeply”.

Country Bilong Me is a major artwork consisting of nine panels to form one large landscape. Mabo says “The work in the exhibition is a visual narration of my travels and reflects the deeply personal and inspirational impact of my visits to country, and I want share its vastness, splendour and depth with all those who visit this exhibition”.

Mabo is a founding member of Murris in Ink, a group of Indigenous printmakers based in Townsville, developing skills in printmaking at Umbrella Studio since 2008. She is well respected for her exquisite works on paper.

Her competence as a printmaker is evident in the painterly contemporary landscape monotypes and linocut prints on display.

A 1983 graduate of NAISDA, National Aboriginal and Islander Dance Academy in Sydney, Mabo’s physical grace is revealed in these works through the use of

her signature and iconic figures which she often embeds between the geological and cultural stratifications of the landscape representing ancestral spirits who safeguard country.

Gail Mabo’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in Canapé Arts in Cairns, Fireworks Gallery in Brisbane, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Umbrella Studio and the James Cook University Library in Townsville, the Telstra National Indigenous Art Awards Exhibition 2013 and many galleries in regional Queensland. Her work is in private and public collections including, Townsville City Council, University of Western Sydney, the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Health, Indigenous Business Australia, James Cook University, Hinchinbrook City Council and the State Library Queensland. Her work has been exhibited in the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair from 2010 – 2014. This year Mabo will complete a major public art commission for the James Cook University campus in Singapore. Mabo is a highly sought after public speaker and has travelled the world representing the issues and cultural traditions of Indigenous people as well as sharing her personal stories and experiences as a Torres Strait Island woman.

Gail Mabo is the middle daughter of Eddy Koiki Mabo, eminent land rights activist and revered Murray Island elder. Aptly both NAIDOC and Mabo Day, in honour of her father who fought a long battle to secure Native Title in the High Court, will be celebrated during the exhibition.

Image Credits (clockwise left to right): Golden Rebirth II, Acrylic on canvas, 102cm x 76cm. Weres lII, Screen print on fabric, 51cm x 76cm. Gail Mabo creating the painting, Karem l, Blue Water. Bindal Dreaming, Acrylic on canvas, 122cm x 137cm.

Front Cover Image: Nywagi Dreaming (detail), Acrylic on canvas, 122cm x 45cm.

Price List Title

Size

Medium

Price

Before Time Clam Shell

77 x 50cm 100 x 70cm

Monoprint Linocut print

Ketai, Wild Yam

100 x 70cm

Linocut print

Larrika Mitakoodi Cloncurry, Queensland Weres l Weres ll Weres lII Ancient Script Ancient Script ll Forever Remains l New Beginning Golden Rebirth l Golden Rebirth ll Epennara, Northern Territory Op Nor, Mer Island Reef Tjuntjun Jara Dreaming Karem l, Blue Water Karem ll, Blue Water Carp Dreaming 1 Carp Dreaming ll Carp Dreaming lll Land to Sea - 3 panel Triptych Las Keper Juru Country Nywagi Dreaming Arafura Moon Bindal Dreaming, 3 Panel Triptych “Country Bilong Me” (9 Panels)

122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 51 x 76cm 51 x 76cm 51 x 76cm 75 x 57cm 75 x 57cm 75 x 57cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 102 x 76cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 60 x 40cm 60 x 40cm 60 x 40cm 122 x 137cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45.7cm 122 x 45cm 123 x 92cm 122 x 137cm 228 x 150cm

Acrylic on canvas Acrylic on canvas Screen print on fabric Screen print on fabric Screen print on fabric Monoprint Monoprint Monoprint Acrylic on canvas Acrylic on canvas Acrylic on canvas Acrylic on canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas Acrylic on Canvas

$1800 Framed Unframed $550 Framed $700 Unframed $550 Framed $700 $3200 $3200 $1600 $1600 $1600 $1800 Framed $1800 Framed $1800 Framed $3200 $3200 $3400 $3200 $3200 $3200 $3200 $3200 $1800 $1800 $1800 $9000 $3200 $3200 $3200 $6000 $9000 $12,000

Sales Information For interviews and further information contact: Vicki Salisbury, Director Umbrella Studio Work Ph: +61 7 4772 7817 Mob: +61 421 421 921 E: director@umbrella.org.au

Arworks can be purchased online through the Umbrella Studio website: www.umbrella.org.au/ blog/umbrella-shop

Electronic Funds Transfer Payments: Account Name: Umbrella Studio Assoc Inc Account Number: 00922059 BSB: 064-817 BIC/SWIFT: CTBAAU2S Commonwealth Bank Australia Currency type: Australian Dollars $AU Preferred Freight Company: Helu-Trans (S) Pte. Ltd Contact person: Michelle Yim Tel: +65 6329 6818