^{figuring ground}

^{Grafton Regional Gallery

158 Fitzroy St, Grafton NSW

July 1 - September 3}

ARTISTS

amy jane parker, archie barry, benjamin bannan, benjamin woods, briony galligan, charlie sofo, d harding, jazz money, jesse boyd-reid, kate bohunnis, léuli eshrāghi, mira oosterweghel, nathan beard, rafaella mcdonald, sj norman, spencer lai, william yang.

Curated by abbra kotlarczyk with text contributions by elijah money and jazz money.

OVERVIEW

Figuring Ground brings the diverse experiences of LGBTQIA+ artists from across Australia to regional audiences in the Clarence Valley. This ambitious multi-form exhibition explores where and how we stand as queer, constituted beings on vibrant and unstable ground.
In challenging and upending framings of the classical western convention of the figure/ground relationship, this exhibition presents nuanced insight into how contemporary LGBTQIA+ artists collapse and expand upon traditional self/world binaries. In casting a rich net of figure/ground relationships through diverse artforms including photography, sculpture, installation, video, painting, sound, poetry and live performance art, this exhibition invites audiences to witness a range of creative modes towards individual and collective practices of queer placemaking. Where LGBTQIA+ communities, and particularly artists, have been at the forefront of imagining other worlds and ways of being in light of various forms of oppression and discrimination, Figuring Ground aims to bolster this creative energy within a context of surmounting climatic, racial and social instability by asking the question: where and how do we stand?
This project and the adjacent Re-Figuring Ground was developed through community consultation with queer and trans youth groups on Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl Country in Grafton.
This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

EVENTS

Exhibition Opening

Saturday July 1, 2023

Artist Talks

amy jane parker, mira oosterweghel & rafaella mcdonald with introduction by abbra kotlarczyk

Sunday July 2, 2023

Closing Event

Saturday August 26, 2023 (details TBC)

CATALOGUE

Figuring Ground catalogue PDF with texts by abbra kotlarczyk, elijah money and jazz money

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Grafton Regional Gallery, the artists and curator would like to acknowledge the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which this exhibition takes place. We honour First Nations’ cultures and their connections to land, sea and community, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.