Untitled (Mangrove Ghosts) I & II

Unbroken Connections Megan Cope

“This exhibition reflects on Megan Cope’s stories her families have with Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) within wider Quandamooka Country (Moreton Bay), for thousands of years and the unbroken connections between family and country in an ever-changing world.

Cope gives new life to important historical narratives by casting bones of her peoples old ancestor Yungun (Dugong) in recycled Television glass (CRT glass) noting the consequences of mass industrial extractive processes and the ongoing social,cultural and environmental impacts. 

Cope also remembers the catastrophic fires along the east coast in recent years by carving through black glass revealing layers and markings of timber growth rings in 12 blown glass forms akin to those on ancestral shields and coolamons. Unbroken Connections also speaks to the responsibility and care that Aboriginal people feel for Country and our increased need for  rights to protect it. 

Each piece tells a story of both Saltwater Country and Freshwater Country and marks the trees as sentient beings that grow there, holding time and earth within their roots and branches and amid your reflection. 

The exhibition invites an all encompassing visual interaction and proposes ways of thinking and remembering the natural world around us and our relationship with it. “

EXHIBITION HISTORY:
Unbroken Connections 2021, Canberra Glassworks as part of Artist Residency program.