Legacy: Reflections on Mabo

Legacy: Reflections on Mabo celebrates the man behind the game-changing Native Title Act, Eddie Koiki Mabo. Co-curated by Gail Mabo, Dr Jonathan McBurnie and Kellie Williams, the exhibition brings together a selection of 22 works, by 25 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, in the spirit of reconciliation twenty-five years after the historic achievement.

Each artist has responded to an aspect of Eddie Mabo that they are drawn to, whether it is his life, politics, activism, or legacy. The works come together in surprising ways with reverence, compassion, anger, sadness and respect, celebrating a man who was both a rebel and a dreamer.

Legacy: Reflections on Mabo is the first major exhibition to explore the life and legacy of Eddie Koiki Mabo from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives.

This exhibition is the first to incorporate significant curatorial direction by the Mabo family, and is unique in the way that the entire show is commissioned artworks created specifically for this project that have never been seen before.

This exhibition’s existence, and its significant reach to so many galleries in regions around Australia, means that the conversation about Indigenous rights continues for people of all ages – albeit through another context – art. And hopefully through this thoughtful, personal, and warm curatorial approach, Eddie’s story can be engaged with from a multitude of current perspectives, rather than being seen as something to examine from afar – through the distance of time.

Eddie’s story can also be inspiring and educational for kids. Read more in the education kit here or watch a video program Rays of Mer here.

The Exhibition

Elisa Jane and Sonja Carmichael	Toby Cedar	Dian Darmansjah	Katina Davidson
Circles of Life and Light, 2019, ghost net, wire, nylon fishing net, synthetic fibres and fish scales, dimensions variable	Headress (Dari), 2019, bamboo cane, twine, feathers, pearl shell, kulup bean, 65 x 45cm each	Cultivate, 2019, etching and engraving, 109.2 x 82cm	Sites of Resistance Series, 2019, oil on porcelain, 10.7 x 13.5cm

Blak Douglas and Adam Geczy	Shane Fitzgerald	Hayley Megan French	Marion Gaemers
Struck Out, 2019, print on plastic banner, 250 x 250c	Incendiary II, 2018, Fujiflex prints, 153cm x 235cm	Being at home, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 101.5 x 162.5cm	Belonging, 2018, recycled and beach found rope net and plastic and wire, 63 x 83 x 77cm

Patricia Hoffie	David Jones	Ian Kaddy	Talitha Kennedy
Forgive Us Our Tresspass, 2019, painting on board, 60 x 204cm each	Mabo Confronts Leviathan, 2019, etching print on rag paper, 93.5 x 76.5cm	Usari (Yam), 2019, linocut print on paper, 97.5 x 76.5cm	Shadow monument to the known but not seen: Ancestral boundary markers of Murray Island, 2019, Leather, thread, polyester fibre, silica gravel and wire, 45 x 120 x 85cm

Jo Lankester	Veronica Lulu and Kim Mahood	Ron McBurnie	Arone Meeks
Bloodlines - Mapping the Landscape, 2019, multi-colour plate intaglio, 86 x 116.5cm	Sand Dunes and Fire Scars, Great Sandy Desert, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 155cm	Heart shaped Yam at Yaadi Mooli Creek, 2019, ink and watercolour on paper, 147.5 x 113.5cm	Mabo 25 & Big Wet Community, 2018, mixed media, 61.2 x 183.2cm

Tommy Pau	Obery Sambo	Anneke Silver	Ken Thaiday Snr
Lady Justice Mourning Her House, 2019, linocut print on paper, 95 x 73cm	Ged Tarim Le, 2019, wood, cane, feathers, glue, twine, pearl shell, cassowary feather and paint, 18 x 88 x 58cm	Euphemism, 2018, acrylic paint and chalk on stretched canvas, 91.5 x 122cm	Koiki Mabo Celebration, 2012-2019, wood, feathers, black bamboo, plastic nylon line, glass, beads, cork, wire, screws, nails and synthetic polyner paint, 58 x 233 x 118c

Jim Paterson	Judy Watson
"It's, The Economy, Stupid!", 2017, charcoal and Conte on Somerset cotton paper 300gsm, 91 x 120cm	mabo legacy with resistance pins, 2019, acrylic, graphite and lumocolour pencil on canvas, 180 x 100cm

The Tour

2019

2020

2021

2022

Dates and venues TBC

Legacy: Reflections on Mabo is a travelling exhibition presented by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts and toured by Museums & Galleries Queensland. It has been generously assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia Program and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments. It is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.