Two upcoming exhibitions at USC Art Gallery will offer creative interpretations of political, economic, environmental and social issues through art made from found objects or craft-based materials.
Marian Tubbs’ exhibition, ’We need privacy guys here too’, presents new and existing works in a range of media, constructed from the physical and digital detritus of contemporary life.
The exhibition’s title is a fragment of conversation and reflects the Lismore artist’s interest in language, gender and the internet.
The second exhibition Craftivism. Dissident Objects and Subversive Forms is a collaborative, playful and immersive exhibition featuring work by contemporary Australian artists and artist collectives who use craft-based materials with a political intent.
This Shepparton Art Museum curated exhibition, touring nationally by NETS Victoria, features artists such as Catherine Bell, Karen Black, Penny Byrne, Erub Arts, Debris Facility, Hiromi Tango, Michelle Hamer and Kate Just.
USC Art Gallery Director Megan Williams said both exhibitions opened at USC Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, on Friday 20 November and will run until 16 January 2021.
“This is Marian Tubbs’ first exhibition in Queensland and I’m excited that she will present a new, site-responsive floor installation that reflects the artist’s strong personal connection with the Sunshine Coast,” Ms Williams said.
Marian Tubbs is an artist and academic living and working on Bunjalung and Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi land who has had her work shown nationally and internationally, including at the National Gallery of Australia.
The exhibition, curated by Hamish Sawyer for the USC Art Gallery, features works using low-grade and found materials to question ideas of value and raise economic, social and ecological issues.
Ms Williams said the Craftivism exhibition aimed to broaden people’s understanding of craft-making traditions.
“These artists subvert and extend these forms into the realm of activism and social change, reflecting on the world in which we live,” she said.
