Milingimbi artists Margaret Rarru, Helen Ganalmirriwuy and Mandy Batjula will feature in the Local Colour: experiments with nature exhibition, to be held University of New South Wales Gallery, 28 July, 2018 – 15 September.
As the world has become more globalised, people are seeking meaning, connection
and everyday solutions in their local communities and environments. Local Colour explores recent art and design practice premised on a concern for environmental sustainability and the conservation of natural resources.
Social, cultural and political issues ranging from climate change, land use, individual and environmental wellbeing are expressed in artworks coloured by natural dyes and pigments. By steeping, printing, dyeing or painting, plants, barks, leaves, minerals, mud, sands, weeds and waste are used as a colour source.
David Suzuki urges us to think locally more than globally. He stresses that we need to ‘revalue what has become de-valued’, focussing on local skills and knowledge to realign our relationship with the natural world back to one that’s more balanced and respectful (The Legacy: An Elder’s Vision for our Sustainable Future, 2010).
Presenting contemporary work by Australian and international artists, designers and social enterprise groups alongside archival experiments with native plants, Local Colour illustrates the vitality, diversity, breadth and beauty of this practice that’s now enjoying a renaissance across the world.