Current: Gail Mabo, Lisa Waup, Dominic White

30 July - 25 September

In its 60th anniversary year, Australian Design Centre is proud to present Current: Gail Mabo, Lisa Waup, Dominic White .

The East Australian Current sweeps water from the Coral Sea southward over the Great Barrier Reef and continues until, off lutruwita (Tasmania), it swings east towards the Tasman Sea. It is a passageway off the east coast of Australia through which marine life continuously flows. Gail Mabo, Lisa Waup and Dominic White are three highly-regarded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists whose practices affirm powerful connections to their respective Country, waters and ancestors.

Mabo, the second daughter of Eddie Koiki and Bonita Mabo, lives and works in Gurrumbilbarra (Townsville) and her cultural identity remains deeply rooted in the customs of Mer (Murray Island) in the Eastern part of Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait). Waup was adopted at birth by Italian parents and has links to Gunditjmara and the Torres Strait Islands. White, who is also adopted, is a descendant of the Tyreelore and Trawoolway people of lutruwita and explores connection to all his history and cultures.

The artistic practices of Mabo, Waup and White have developed within similar coordinates. Each is deeply invested in the power and symbolism of natural materials. For each, art is the language used to communicate their inalienable connection to Country. Moreover, art is the means for exploring the tapestry of their cultural identity and ancestry, whether it be known, or a story constantly unfurling.

Current demonstrates the triumph of First Nations truth-telling over Australia’s propensity for nationalistic myth-making. Gail Mabo, Lisa Waup and Dominic White might be geographically distant to one another. But in these gallery spaces the separate and interwoven stories are as vital and compelling as the ocean currents connecting them.

Australian Design Centre CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Cahill said, “It is a great privilege to present this exhibition as part of its national tour. The works of each individual artist are so strong and personal, and together they draw out and emphasise so many themes and connections - honouring the people and culture who have been here since the beginning, while calling out ongoing contemporary issues for First Nations people in Australia.”

First shown at McClelland Sculpture Park & Gallery in Victoria, Current is now touring Australia. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program, the Besen Family Foundation, and the Gordon Darling Foundation.

Image top: Lisa Waup, holding Country, 2023, The University of Melbourne Art Collection. Photo: Christian Capurro