First Nations Artwork Acquired by Australian Art Institution

Written By Megan Cope

Portrait of Megan Cope. Poto by Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Meanjin/Brisbane.

On September 2, the Newcastle Art Gallery (NAG) in New South Wales, Australia, announced the acquisition of an artwork by the acclaimed Quandamooka artist Megan Cope. Titled Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (Off Country) (2022), the installation features 44 two-meter-long poles adorned with rock oyster shells, which will be suspended within NAG’s new central atrium. The work is a part of Cope’s ongoing project of oyster-shell sculptures which trace the environmental impact of lime-burning, as well as the destruction of Aboriginal oyster reefs in Quandamooka Sea Country, in Southeastern Queensland. Cope explained that Kinyingarra Guwinyanba—which translates to “place of oyster rocks” in the Jandai and Gowar language—is “a living, generative land and sea artwork that demonstrates how art can physically heal country that has been colonised through the practice of ecologically restorative and ancestral processes.” The work was donated by the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation, the gallery’s nonprofit fundraising arm, marking a significant addition to NAG’s collection of First Nations art.

Megan Cope
Previous

Sharjah Biennial 16 announces title, approach and participants
Next

Deep Listening