First Nations Artwork on Campus

words Samstag Museum of Art Team

Since 1991,?the University of South Australia has commissioned and acquired site specific?works of art for campus display. There are around 50 artworks on display on the campuses of the University of South Australia.

Amongst these creations are works by First Nations artists Yvonne Koolmatrie, APY Collective, Vernon Ah Kee and Darren Siwes. These works have been purchased through the Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy Reconciliation Action Plan.

Darren Siwes, Gold Puella?and Gold Homo Hominus, from the series?Oz Omnium Rex Et Regina, 2009

These photographs by South Australian artist, Darren Siwes, puts forward First Nations heads of state for so-called Australia. Siwes’s series?Oz Omnium Rex Et Regina?draws on the symbol of the coin to signify financial and cultural exchange and the enduring power of representation. The artist wittily demonstrates the way class delineations, and our hierarchical systems can mean the difference between a mug shot or a head of state.

Darren Siwes is a Ngalkban man, living and working on Kaurna Yerta. His photographic art practice resides somewhere between truth and the hypothetical, addressing issues of class, culture, place and identity. Siwes is an alumnus of the University of South Australia, completing a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honors) in 1996. In 2002, he received a Samstag Scholarship and studied at the Chelsea School of Art, London, where he completed a Master of Fine Art. Siwes’s work is held in major collections, both nationally and abroad, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and the Reina Sofia Madrid, Spain.

Location: Wirringka Student Services, Mawson Lakes Campus.

APY Collective,?Seven Sisters, 2018

Seven Sisters depicts a part of country where the Seven Sisters Tjukurpa and the Pitardi Tjukurpa meet, west of Amata Community.

The creation of the work was led by senior artists Wawiriya Burton, Mona Mitakiki, Sylvia Ken, and Tjungkara Ken and emerging artist Sharon Adamson, joined by Sandra Ken, Nyurpaya Kaika Burton, Wanatura Lewis, Sally Scales, Tjimpayie Prestley, Kathy Maringka, Gladys Roberts, Rita Rolley, Celine Tunkin, Madeline Curley (Kaltjiti Arts), Emily Paddy, Nyanyu Watson, Jennifer Mungee, Joyleen.

Location: Bradley Forum foyer, Level 5, Hawke Building, UniSA, City West Campus.?

Yvonne Koolmatrie,?Eel traps, 2009

These woven-sedge eel traps—narrow at one end, curving and broadening to an inviting opening at the other––are typical of the work that has brought Yvonne Koolmatrie national and international recognition. Yvonne Koolmatrie is of the Ngarrindjeri people of the Coorong and River Murray region of South Australia, and has worked to revive and maintain her people’s fibre-weaving traditions. She creates fine sculptural works that range from traditional forms, such as traps and baskets, to the far from traditional, including a hot-air balloon and a biplane. Koolmatrie says, ‘When I am weaving, I feel no pain. For me the weaving is meditation.’

In 1997, Koolmatrie became one of the select few artists to have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious international art event. In this exhibition, Koolmatrie showcased her work alongside that of Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Judy Watson.?

Location: Jeffrey Smart Building entrance foyer, UniSA, City West Campus.?