TarraWarra Museum of Art has revealed its 2021 exhibition program that will include the TarraWarra Biennial 2021; a major new Sidney Nolan exhibition dedicated to his explorations of myth from the Trojan War to Gallipoli; an immersive installation by Heather B. Swann; and TarraWarra’s first Yalingwa exhibition, WILAM BIIK, engaging concepts of Indigenous lore.
Victoria Lynn, Director, TarraWarra Museum of Art, says 2021 will feature groundbreaking exhibitions complemented with a series of specially curated public programs. “One of the few benefits of the COVID lockdown has been the time it has afforded for detailed research and planning,” she said.
“I think this will shine through for our visitors in 2021, with a program that expands the Museum’s focus on providing a relevant and meaningful voice and presenting new and unexpected ideas within a global context. We look forward to welcoming visitors new and old to TarraWarra Museum of Art throughout 2021,” said Ms Lynn.
The TarraWarra Biennial 2021: Slow Moving Waters
27 March – 11 July 2021
Taking the meaning of Tarrawarra – a Woiwurrung word that translates approximately as slow moving waters – as its departure point, the TarraWarra Biennial 2021 explores ideas of duration, suspension, withdrawal, stillness and the elasticity of time. Featuring 24 artists from across the country and a number of new site-specific installations, the TarraWarra Biennial 2021 considers the broader arc of history against the pull of the accelerated now, attentive to notions of place, subjectivity and community, and to an idea of the present as a site of multiple durations, pasts and possible futures. Guest curated by Nina Miall.
WILAM BIIK
31 July – 7 November 2021
Curated by Yalingwa First Nations Curator Stacie Piper, WILAM BIIK is an exhibition of cultural consciousness and knowledge; of an unsevered connection between First Peoples of South East Australia and their Country, over thousands of generations. WILAM BIIK is the second exhibition to be presented as part of Yalingwa, a partnership between the Victorian Government, ACCA and TarraWarra Museum of Art, designed to support the development of outstanding contemporary Indigenous art and curatorial practice.
Sidney Nolan: Myth Rider
20 November 2021 – 6 March 2022
Curated by TarraWarra Museum of Art Curator Anthony Fitzpatrick, brings together more than 100 works by Sidney Nolan from the period 1955 – 1966, during which the artist grappled with the subject of the Trojan War, its parallels with the Gallipoli campaign, and its origins in the myth of Leda and the Swan. Combining compelling subject matter and a highly inventive approach to a wide range of media, the rich array of works in this exhibition reveal Nolan’s innate understanding of and facility for mythopoesis – the making of myth – whereby past and present, ancient and modern, legend and history are conflated and vividly reimagined. The Nolan exhibition will be paired with an immersive installation by contemporary artist Heather B. Swann.
Heather B. Swann: Leda and the Swan
20 November 2021 – 6 March 2022.
This immersive, experiential work is woven out of her own contemporary reading of the myth of Leda and the Swan and emerges from artist residencies in Rome and Athens. The artist’s close study of Graeco-Roman antiquities and emulation of the forms of classical figurative sculpture is embodied in her use of fragmentation, repetition and mismatched scale. The work invites audiences to explore the actions, emotions and social-moral codes of this ancient, ambiguous and chilling narrative. At the same time, the work recognises and salutes the historical achievement of Sidney Nolan, Australia’s great modernist myth-maker.
TarraWarra’s current exhibition, the critically acclaimed Looking Glass: Judy Watson and Yhonnie Scarce, curated by Hetti Perkins, continues until 8 March 2021. Take a day trip to see the exhibition and experience some of the additional activities on offer at TarraWarra Museum of Art. Free sketching kits are available at the Museum where you can relax on the grassy banks and hone your sketching skills in the glorious surrounds of TarraWarra as part of the Museum’s DIY Summer Sketching program.
Or follow the Looking Glass Trail – a self-guided itinerary to open your eyes, ears and minds to the Indigenous history of the Yarra Valley region. Tune into a playlist curated by Looking Glass artists Judy Watson and Yhonnie Scarce, visit an art project on the banks of the Birrarung (Yarra River) in Healesville and take a virtual visit to Coranderrk Aboriginal Station, one of Australia’s most significant sites.
For more information about TarraWarra Museum of Art 2021 exhibition program, visit: www.twma.com.au for details.
Image: Jacobus Capone, Sincerity and Symbiosis, 2019 (video still detail), synchronised 3-channel HD video with sound, video duration 00:36:00, Courtesy of the artist and Moore Contemporary, Perth