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Australia. A lightness of Spirit is the measure of Happiness

The exhibition curated by Hannah Presley in Melbourne explores two aspects of Australian society – humor and community – through the work of contemporary Aboriginal artists.

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“It is not only heavy history that we hold, we are also happy, connected people.” In these words, curator Hanna Presley sums up the spirit of “A lightness of Spirit is the measure of Happiness”, the latest exhibition at the Australian Center for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Southbank, Melbourne. “The show is light, but it features a sophistication that comes from that heaviness.”

Img.1 Jonathan Jones, Untitled (gidyirriga), 2018, ceramic figurines, sponge-stamped, synthetic polymer paint, wood, stereo, soundscape, dimensions variable, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Sound design: Luke Mynott, Sonar Sound; Voices: Karma Dechen, Renna Dechen, Beth Delan, Jenson Howard, Lilia Howard, Taj Lovett, Mincarlie Lovett, Phoebe Smith, Ben Woolstencroft and Mae Woolstencroft from Parkes Public School; with thanks to Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM, Uncle Geoff Anderson and Lionel Lovett. Courtesy the artist
Img.2 Jonathan Jones, Untitled (gidyirriga), 2018 (detail), ceramic figurines, sponge-stamped, synthetic polymer paint, wood, stereo, soundscape, dimensions variable, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Sound design: Luke Mynott, Sonar Sound; Voices: Karma Dechen, Renna Dechen, Beth Delan, Jenson Howard, Lilia Howard, Taj Lovett, Mincarlie Lovett, Phoebe Smith, Ben Woolstencroft and Mae Woolstencroft from Parkes Public School; with thanks to Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM, Uncle Geoff Anderson and Lionel Lovett. Courtesy the artist
Img.3 Tiger Yaltangki, TIGERLAND, 2018 (detail), synthetic polymer paint on linen and plywood cut-outs, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iwantja Arts, Indulkana and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
Img.4 Tiger Yaltangki, TIGERLAND, 2018 (detail), synthetic polymer paint on linen and plywood cut-outs, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iwantja Arts, Indulkana and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
Img.5 Benita Clements, My life with Albert – my family series, 2018, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Img.6 Benita Clements, My life with Albert – my family series, 2018, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Img.7 Benita Clements, Fireworks at Alice Springs Show 2018, from the series My life with Albert – my family 2018, watercolour and gouache on paper, 26.5 x 74.0 cm, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Img.8 Benita Clements, Fireworks at Alice Springs Show 2018, from the series My life with Albert – my family 2018, watercolour and gouache on paper, 26.5 x 74.0 cm, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Img.9 Robert Fielding, Objects of origin 1, 2018, C-type print on dibond; Objects of origin 2 2018, C-type print on dibond; Objects of origin 3 2018, C-type print on dibond; Objects of origin 4 2018, C-type print on dibond, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Mimili Maku Arts, Mimili Community, South Australia
Img.10 Robert Fielding, Untitled, 2018, found flour buckets, lights dimensions variable; Cycles 2018, HD video loop, 7:07 mins, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Mimili Maku Arts, Mimili Community, South Australia
Img.11 Vincent Namatjira, Welcome to Indulkana, 2018, synthetic polymer paint on linen, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist, Iwantja Arts, Indulkana and This is No Fantasy + Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne
Img.12 Mr Kunmanara Pompey, Cowboy story, 2018; Cowboy story 2018, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist’s estate and Iwantja Arts, Indulkana
Img.13 Kaylene Whiskey, Seven Sistas 2018 (detail), synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 8 panels: 307.0 x 124.0 cm (each), installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist, Iwantja Arts, Indulkana, and blackartprojects, Melbourne
Img.14 Kaylene Whiskey, Seven Sistas 2018 (detail), synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 8 panels: 307.0 x 124.0 cm (each), installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist, Iwantja Arts, Indulkana, and blackartprojects, Melbourne
Img.15 Tiger Yaltangki, TIGERLAND 2018 (detail), synthetic polymer paint on linen and plywood cut-outs installation: 200.0 x 1200.0 x 240.0 cm, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Iwantja Arts, Indulkana and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
Img.16 Alec Baker, Peter Mungkuri, Mr Kunmanara Pompey, Never stop riding, 2017, (video still), HD video 10:26 mins. Producer: Iwantja Arts. Camera and editing Jackson Lee, Melted Creative; Vincent Namatjira, Welcome to Indulkana 2018, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 122.0 x 304.0 cm. Courtesy the artist, Iwantja Arts, Indulkana and This is No Fantasy + Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
Img.17 Lisa Waup, Ancestors 2018 (detail), 2 cloaked figures: feathers, ceramic, glaze, digital print on cotton rag, cotton, coper wire, bird’s feet and metal stands, 41.0 x 28.0 x 50.0 cm (each), 2 winged figures: feathers, ceramic, glaze, oaten hay, fibre, bird’s wings, wool, cotton, 30.0 x 30.0 x 20.0 cm (each); Family 2018 (detail), 5 figures: feathers, ceramic, glaze, forged recycled copper water heater, copper patina, copper wire, fibre, 20.0 x 13.0 x 13.0 cm (each), installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist
Img.18 “A Lightness of Spirit is the Measure of Happiness 2018”, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
Img.19 Yhonnie Scarce, Remember Royalty series 2018, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and This is No Fantasy + Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne
Img.20 Yhonnie Scarce, Fanny – Andamooka opal fields, South Australia, 2018 (detail), from the series Remember Royalty 2018, water based ink screen printed on vintage cotton sheet, vintage suitcase, black lustre blown glass, vintage gloves, embroidered handkerchiefs, sheet: 260.0 x 230.0 cm, suitcase with objects: 62.0 x 47.0 x 50.0 cm, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and This is No Fantasy + Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne
Img.21 Vicki Couzens, Djawannacuppatea, 2018, plywood, kitchen table and chairs, lamp, woven woollen matt, woven framed photographs, anodised aluminium teapot, personal collections, sound, 443.5 x 840.0 x 505.0 cm, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Sound: Robbie Bundle. Courtesy the artist
Img.22 Vicki Couzens, Djawannacuppatea, 2018 (detail), plywood, kitchen table and chairs, lamp, woven woollen matt, woven framed photographs, anodised aluminium teapot, personal collections, sound, 443.5 x 840.0 x 505.0 cm, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Sound: Robbie Bundle. Courtesy the artist

Ten new works have been commissioned to contemporary artists from all over the country to show visitors the everyday life and experiences of Aboriginal people today – or, better said, to discover who contemporary Australians are. Their work references to community leadership, country music icons, queer identity and pop-culture. What connects each work is the legacy of ancestors and a sense of peaceful nostalgia, bringing the past to the present. The works exhibited show a number of media and representation techniques: from Benita Clements’ watercolors tributing Modern Aboriginal paintings, to Yhonnie Scarce’s glass blowing, to Peter Waples-Crowe’s installation that discusses the representation of Aboriginal people in pop culture.

Peter Waples-Crowe, Ngarigo Queen – Cloak of queer visibility, 2018, possum pelts, waxed linen thread, leather dyes, pokerwork, 380.0 x 129.0 cm, installation view. Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Cloak-making advisor: Maree Clarke. Courtesy the artist

The exhibition is part of Yalingwa, a Victorian Government initiative and a partnership between Creative Victoria, ACCA and TarraWarra Museum of Art, to support the development of contemporary Indigenous art and curatorial practice. Artists on show are Alec Baker, Benita Clements, Vicki Couzens, Robert Fielding, Jonathan Jones, Peter Mungkuri, Vincent Namatjira, Jimmy Pompey, Yhonnie Scarce, Peter Waples-Crowe, Lisa Waup, Kaylene Whiskey and Tiger Yaltangki.

Read also: Indigenous Australia in Berlin

Opening image: Robert Fielding, Untitled, 2018, found flour buckets, lights dimensions variable, installation view. Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Mimili Maku Arts, Mimili Community, South Australia  

  • A Lightness of Spirit is the Measure of Happiness
  • Hannah Presley
  • Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA)
  • Yalingwa
  • 7 July – 16 September 2018
  • 111 Sturt Street, Southbank, Melbourne, Australia
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