Meditation on Bone

Heide 11: Albert & Mary Tucker Gallery

Heide Museum of Modern Art

1 September 2018 - 24 February 2019

Curated by Glenn Barkley

Barkley had the envious opportunity to sticky-nose around the Albert Tucker personal archive and library. Much of what he puts on public show highlights how deeply patronising many 1940-50s publications about indigenous cultures were.  Tucker's magazines, articles and book are set a amongst his collection of 'primitive' or 'naive' masks and sculptures. A group of Tucker self portraits, all with lascivious lips (no images of these!) and journal cover with Picasso as clown sets a creepily ambiguous tone. 

Added to these discoveries are hand-crafted beauties from contemporary Australian artists. The hang is dense, utilising Barkley's off-used 'history of ceramics prints' as gallery wall paper. This show hints at the what was in shadows of the sun-shiny Heide compound.

Louise Meuwissen, 

Scott Duncan Blank Expression, 2018, stoneware

the eyes have it - brrrr! From 1958 

Lynda Draper, Tony, 2014

Tom Polo

Ramesh Nitheyendran, Orange Mask,  2018 earthenware, shell

Tony Albert, No Place 3, 2009 type c photograph

Glenn Barkley (apologies missed this caption)

Artists are:

Laurence Aberhart
Tony Albert
Glenn Barkley
Dorothy Berry
Karla Dickens
Lynda Draper
Scott Duncan
Ruki Famé
Caroline Garcia
Simon Gende
Tarryn Gill
Raven Halfmoon
Glenda Havilah
John Havilah
Adrian Lazzaro
Louise Meuwissen
Ramesh Nitheyendran
Jason Phu
Tom Polo