Page 78 - Tropic Magazine Issue 12

Lifestyle
Arts

Zanele Muholi, Bhekezakhe, Parktown 2016

Gallery happenings CIAF 2018 Fred Williams
e Gallery’s 2018 Cairns Indigenous On exhibition until the end of June is
Take advantage of free entry to Art Fair program includes Mara: Fred Williams: Weipa Series, Cape
the Cairns Art Gallery and Indigenous design, politics and food York. Of the fi ty works produced by
check out some of the best culture, Continental Dri t, and North Williams during his 1977 visit to Weipa,
exhibitions on o fer during by East West. thirty gouaches have been borrowed
June and July. Continental Dri t is a major exhibition from collections Australia-wide to be
celebrating and examining global black displayed alongside works from the
Danie Mellor art and culture and highlights the Gallery’s own collection. Williams is
Recognised as one of Australia’s leading shared experiences of contemporary noted as one of the most important
contemporary artists, Danie Mellor’s blak/black artists from South Africa Australian artists of the twentieth
artistic practice is heavily informed by and north Australia. century and is best known for his
his Indigenous and European cultural Mara: Indigenous design, politics and unique style in depicting the
heritage and his interest in the food culture celebrates the cultural Australian landscape. e visit to
intersection between Western and heritage and living culture of Weipa le t a lasting impression on
Indigenous philosophies. Cairns Art Aboriginal people in north Queensland Williams and he made the following
Gallery is delighted to present the and brings together more than two diary entry of his trip:
exhibition Danie Mellor: Proximity and hundred traditional and contemporary
Perception, full of rich and complex artefacts used for hunting and food Seeing Voices
imagery exploring Mellor’s engagement gathering in Far North Queensland. is is an extraordinary, experiential
with the history, culture and landscape North by East West celebrates the exhibition that will close with a public
of his matrilineal Country of the relationship between Torres Strait performance by Swedish-born
Atherton Tablelands. Islander and Aboriginal cultures performance artist, Erik Bünger on
A highlight of the exhibition is through a shared history based around Saturday 23 June. Bünger is
Dulgu-burra (a procession of history) the pearl shell, which was used both as internationally recognised for his thesis
2018, a work commissioned by the a cultural medium and a commodity that the voice has always been
Cairns Art Gallery Foundation for the for industry. e traditional cultural “inauthentic”. He contends that, unlike
Gallery’s Permanent Collection. e practice of pearl shell carving and a monkey or a horse, which make the
artwork depicts an idyllic scene of design continues today in the Torres natural sounds they are born with,
Bama (rainforest people), going about Strait as well as the Kimberley Coast by humans learn to speak.
daily life beside a river and was chosen contemporary artists through the
as the latest artwork to grace the creation of wood sculptures, fine MORE: cairnsartgallery.com.au
Gallery’s Shields St columns. jewellery, etchings and prints.

Ballet spectacular

In a major coup for the city’s favourite outdoor venue Munro Martin Parklands,
the Australian Ballet will perform one of the greatest comic ballets of the 19th
Century in Cairns this August.
Tickets are now on sale for Coppélia, described as a sparkling tale of magic and
mischief combining laughter, love, lively dancing and vivid colour. The Australian
Ballet troupe will also take over the Parklands for a morning of classes,
giveaways, prizes and a celebration of all things ballet. Members of the Cairns
community are invited to join in – or watch – one of two free practical classes
led by dancers from The Australian Ballet.
“We are so thrilled that The Australian Ballet has chosen to bring this wonderful
performance to Cairns,” Mayor Bob Manning said.
But ballet fans are urged to get in quick; tickets are limited to just 2000 tickets
to maintain optimal sight lines.
TICKETS: ticketlink.com.au or 1300 855 835.