The first exhibition of Wollongong Art Gallery's 2025 program opens this weekend with a new installation by acclaimed cross-cultural Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens.
Rise and Fall responds to the climate catastrophe that struck Dickens' hometown of Lismore during the devastating floods in February 2022.
"This is such a timely exhibition given only last week Lismore was, once again, faced with the threat of a significant weather event that could have caused major flooding,'' Wollongong Art Gallery Director Daniel Mudie Cunningham, who curated the exhibition, said.
"The exhibition uses sculpture, photography, installation and video and it sets out to put a post-apocalyptic twist on mythologies connected to mermaids.
"It considers how we all have a shared responsibility for the work as we look at the impacts of climate change.''
Dickens' work also speaks to First Nations mermaid stories locally, resonating with Dharawal Five Islands Alcheringa (Dreaming), which is also about the crucial necessity of looking after the environment.
"The heartbreak of the Lismore floods made me seriously question whether art was simply self-indulgent and if it had any relevance in the realm of climate action,'' Ms Dickens said.
"Slowly after the initial disaster, I came to accept that art was my most effective voice. I was then able to let go and make work that would honour my fears and help ease my spirit.
"As a First Nations artist, having a voice for protecting Country is my essential ongoing cultural responsibility, like so many artists worldwide."
Born in 1967 in Sydney, Karla Dickens is of Wiradjuri, Irish and German descent. Through collage, painting, installation, photography, video and poetry, Dickens' practice is a highly personal and political interrogation of Australian culture and history.
Her work has featured in major group exhibitions in Australia and internationally, including The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, 'A Dickensian Country Show' commissioned for the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia and NIRIN: 22nd Biennale of Sydney at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW).
She was one of nine artists selected to create a new commission for Sydney Modern, AGNSW. Dickens' work is held in many public and private collections across Australia and internationally.
The exhibition will be open during Wollongong Art Gallery's regular hours from 10am – 5pm Tuesday to Friday and 12pm – 4pm Saturday to Sunday, 15 March 2025 to 1 June 2025, at Wollongong Art Gallery. Karla Dickens is represented by STATION Gallery.
Public Programs and Related Events:
- Karla Dickens in conversation with Daniel Mudie Cunningham | Wollongong Art Gallery
Saturday 15 March, 1 - 2pm
- Queer Soundbath facilitated by Ocean and Nicole Smede | Wollongong Art Gallery
Sunday 23 March 2 - 3.30pm
- Reading the Tide: Collective Tarot for Staying Afloat in an Era of Climate Crisis | Wollongong Art Gallery
Sunday 30 March 2 - 3.30pm
- Found Plastic Jewellery Workshop with Mel Young | Wollongong Art Gallery
Friday 4 April 10am - 1pm
- Panel Talk on Community Water Maintenance in the Illawarra | Wollongong Art Gallery
Guest Speakers: Aunty Lorriane Brown and Aunty Narelle Thomas
Sunday 27 April 2 - 3pm
- Book Club on 'Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals' | Wollongong Art Gallery
Sunday 4 May 2 - 4pm
- Rise and Fall Finissage with a screening of Two Bob Mermaid | Wollongong Art Gallery
Sunday 1 June 2 - 4pm
