Flinders University City Gallery

Located downstairs at the back of the State Library of Adelaide. This exhibition space aims to showcase the work of contemporary South Australian artists, as well as host exhibitions from the National Touring Network.

Now Showing:



Spirit in the Land
27th August - 23 October

The Landscape has been an enduring subject in the history of Australian art and vital to the on-going formation of images of a national identity. Within this tradition Spirit of the Land explores the connection between australian artists, historical and contemporary, Indigenous and non-Indiginous.[1]

Although the exhibition portrayed how different artists view the Australian land and their own experieces of living and being in the country, as a whole it seemed very 'one point of viewed'. Spirit of the land only represented only the outback land of Australia, not quite giving an accurate view of the entirety of Australia as a whole (aka not representing an suburban areas). It was difficult to use five words to describe it, because of its similarities. Brown, Dry, Abstract, Dark and Abandoned. All pieces represented Australia as a wasteland almost, arid and dangerous. On the positive point, there were some very interesting pieces, such as the piece above by Rosalie Gascoigne, titled 'Vintage'. This artwork was made of reflective road signs which were strategically placed onto plywood. Two of my favourite pieces in the gallery was Lin Onus's 'Jimmys Billabong' and Dorothy Napangardi's 'Mina Mina'. 


Lin Onus's piece 'Jimmy's Billabong' (below) has a very clear meaning for myself, in that the Australian environment is sacred land, basically. he uses tradition images from European and Aboriginal worlds to reflect the dilemmas and aspirations of Aboriginal people living in a predominantly non-Aboriginal society. The painting represents a barrier between the two societies, which is there, even if we don't want to admit it.

Dorothy Napangardi's 'Sandhills of Mina Mina' (below), 2000, is done on a huge canvas and was the stand out piece for me at this exhibition. She uses a fine variety of dot work in white on a plain black background to create an abstract painting which comes alive, from far away or close-up.

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[1] Art Guide Australia

http://www.artguide.com.au/exhibition/spirit-in-the-land-/ (accessed 8^th September)