Umbrella Touring Exhibition: Mabo Kara Art
06/05/2014
The solo exhibition by Gail Mabo, Mabo Kara Art, in Torres Strait Island creole language means Mabo My Art, will open on 11, June 2014, at the Australian High Commission in Singapore.
This is the first solo exhibition for a North Queensland Indigenous artist and Umbrella Member at the High Commission in Singapore. Gail Mabo has produced 29 stunning new works for the show including; linocut prints, monotype prints, screen prints and acrylic paintings on canvas.
The exhibition came about last year when Umbrella Studio Director Vicki Salisbury, travelled to Singapore to install and open Compact Prints 2012 at the James Cook University campus in Singapore. Vicki recalls, “The Consul General kindly attended the opening of CP12 and we discussed the possibility of an exhibition of Indigenous artwork in the gallery at the High Commission to coincide with their NAIDOC celebrations. My team have been working in partnership with the Commission Staff and James Cook in Singapore for nearly a year and Umbrella is thrilled to have helped make it happen”.
The artist’s objective is to guide exhibition visitors through her Aboriginal country and Torres Strait Island home. Last year Mabo visited remote communities around Australia with the highly successful youth performance project, Song Nation. She reveals, “The exhibition echoes my travels to the outback; my Torres Strait Island home, and the warmth of the people I meet when I am in these remote communities. I am pleased to share my experiences through my artwork with visitors to the exhibition. “
Exhibition activities include an artist talk at the High Commission and at the James Cook University Campus. Mabo will also complete a major public art commission for the James Cook University campus in Singapore.
Mabo is a founding member of Murris in Ink, a group of Indigenous printmakers based in Townsville, developing skills in printmaking at Umbrella Studio since 2008. Her art work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions including, the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair 2009-2014, Fireworks Gallery in Brisbane, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Umbrella Studio, the Queensland State Library, National Gallery of Australia, James Cook University and the Telstra National Indigenous Art Awards Exhibition.
Gail Mabo is the middle daughter of Eddy Koiki Mabo, eminent land rights activist and revered Murray Island elder. Aptly both NAIDOC and Mabo Day, in honour of her father who fought a long battle to secure Native Title in the High Court, will be celebrated during the exhibition.
See the artworks that will be displayed in the Umbrella Shop
