Australian Design Centre’s Arts NSW Indigenous Design Mentorship recipient Nicole Monks’ first solo show for 2016 opens Tuesday 31 May at UNSW Art & Design.
Known for her award-winning furniture, Monks is a trans-disciplinary artist who received the UNSW Art & Design Art Residency Award in the 2014 Parliament of NSW Aboriginal Art Prize.
The exhibition Owning the moon, curated by Emily Sullivan, is the result of her residency program.
Curator Emily Sullivan says of the show;
'A Wajarri Yamatji woman with English and Dutch heritage, Owning the moon is a continuation of Nicole Monks' questions surrounding learned thoughts, behaviours and the ways in which Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people interpret visual narratives and the Australian landscape. Informed by her cross-cultural heritage, Monks is able to explore these histories through multiple viewpoints.
Working across film, sculpture, installation and photography, Monks' practice is concerned with exploring the means in which we identify signs and symbols in visual culture. Invited to explore the space by walking amongst symbolical felled trees, the viewer is directed to engage closely with the works, simultaneously being put back on the path to realisation or 'seeing' and setting the tone for the re-contextualisation of landscape.'
For Monks, her ongoing mentorship at Australian Design Centre allows her to “continually explore the differences and similarities of my cross-cultural heritage and allows me to develop ideas from multiple viewpoints.”
Owning the moon
31 May – 3 June
AD Space, UNSW Art & Design
Cnr Oxford St and Greens Rd, Paddington
Link to event page at UNSW Art & Design
Nicole’s work will be shown at Australian Design Centre in September 2016 with fellow Indigenous Design Mentorship recipient Lucy Simpson. Read more about Indigenous Design Mentorships at ADC here
Jo Higgins, Creative Strategy Manager
Image credit: Nicole Monks still from Owning the Moon, 2016