The work of an internationally-acclaimed First Nations artist will hang in the upgraded Newcastle Art Gallery after the acquisition of a significant art piece.
Quandamooka artist Megan Cope's Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (Off Country) features 44 poles adorned with a bouquet of rock oyster shells, which will be suspended within the new central atrium of the gallery.
Each pole is about two metres long and shaped from cypress pine, collected by the artist and Quandamooka community collaborators from Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island).
The work was donated by the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation.
"Members and supporters of the foundation are eagerly anticipating this important work being added to the gallery's already nationally acclaimed collection," foundation chair Suzie Galwey said.
Kinyingarra Guwinyanba, meaning 'place of oyster rocks' in Jandai and Gowar language, is part of Megan Cope's project of on-and-off-Country oyster-shell based sculptures.
The sculptures investigate the impact of the early colonial lime-burning industry and devastation of Aboriginal middens and oyster reefs in Quandamooka Sea Country.
Cope has exhibited across the globe at places including Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Milan, and Quebec. She started Kinyingarra Guwinyanba in 2022 on her traditional Country.
"Kinyingarra Guwinyanba is a living, generative land and sea artwork that demonstrates how art can physically heal country that has been colonised through the practice of ecologically restorative and ancestral processes," Ms Cope said.
"By suspending the sculpture in the gallery, I hope it will help us connect with the two worlds of the inter-tidal zone, to that feeling of being buoyant when swimming and being able to see both above and below."
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the culturally important work of art was expected to attract international interest.
"Newcastle Art Gallery is dedicated to honouring the culture and traditions of our First Nations communities, so it's fitting that such a significant work of art will fill the atrium of our expanded gallery," Cr Nelmes said.
Newcastle Art Gallery director Lauretta Morton said the piece would be suspended in the "heart" of the reimagined art gallery.
"Beyond its evident artistic merit, it strongly signals the gallery's commitment to support First Nations artists, works of scale and artists of calibre," she said.
"While the gallery has strong representation of First Nations paintings and works on paper, this represents a significant addition to the gallery's holdings of sculpture by First Nations artists."
