(Photo: Bo Wong)
Among the otherwise silent differences of yesterday's Australia, you will find a story that combines two major dilemmas: elegance and horror. It is similar to the threads of a tight knot that First Nations glass artist Yhonnie Scarce made. Nurtured in residence of what was the atrocity inflicted by the nuclear testing in South Australia in the 1950s and 60s, the artistry of Scarce becomes a powerful awakening to the apathy the Aboriginal people have experienced. In her clever reasoning works, she exposes the devastation caused by nuclear testing by treating forgotten strands. Brutal battles faced by indigenous people are another perpetual endeavor she displays through her works.
Scarce's Personal Journey
Scarce's adventure starts in Woomera, her birthplace, where she used to hear stories of disastrous blasts and a poisonous black fog that had brought danger to the neighborhood. These stories she had heard all her life from the elders were the ones that kindled a flame in her- a trend of capturing the secrets that were hiding under the desert sands without a plateau. Scarce's art is a weapon whereby she condemns the brutality that was bestowed upon her fellow Aborigines by the British government's nuclear detonations at Maralinga and Emu Field. The fallout from these tests cast a dark shadow, spreading radioactive clouds that ravaged Aboriginal lands and lives.
In Scarce's survey exhibition, "The Light of Day," held at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, visitors are confronted with a visceral experience. Thousands of glass yams suspended in the air evoke the menacing clouds that once loomed over the desert landscape. Each yam represents a life lost, a silent tribute to those whose histories have been silenced. As the light filters through the glass, casting myriad shadows on the gallery floor, the presence of the unseen becomes palpable- the ancestors, the unrecorded casualties, speaking through the art.
The Light of Day Exhibition
Scarce's mastery of glassblowing breathes life into her creations, transforming fragile material into a symbol of resilience. Drawing inspiration from her Indigenous heritage, she infuses her work with elements from the natural world of bush fruits and the landscape. Through inventive formations and meticulous craftsmanship, Scarce channels the spirit of her people, honoring their strength and endurance in the face of adversity.
The exhibition spends a part of its time on the sordid rays of Australia's history through the analysis of displacement, exploitation, and institutionalized racism. Expressions such as "In the Dead House" and "Remember Royalty" imagine the violation of Indigenous bodies and remind us about the ongoing catastrophe and trauma that the community is facing. The art of Scarce functions as a poignant critical act in which they reinstate the humanity of those deprived of the essence of their existence.
Environmental and Social Commentary
In 'A Hallowing Earth', she shows the scars left by the uranium mining at concessions that her ancestors had long owned. Mimicry green shaded glasses bananas full small pack of uranium is shining in the gloomy setting of the gallery, a shrewd symbol that indicates the devastation of country. In line with this, Scarce utilizes art to highlight traces of indigenous histories and present them with a nudge of what is more uncomfortable to confront about Australia's legacy and the current times.
For the visitors to keep reading as they walk through the tour, they will start to uncover the truths in depictions such as "Servant and Slave," which show the untold stories of indigenous women who were forced into servitude. Through stark depictions, feelings, and sounds, she communicates the experiences of her ancestors- the resilience of the families that survived through centuries of hardships, love, and caring. In this mosaic, a man calls different lines about history, and the viewers are jogged into thinking of the profound complications encapsulating Indigenous identity and colonialism nostalgia.
In her outstanding and thought-provoking work, Yhonnie Scarce shows us how to face the past and deal with the vanity of painfulness and hidden wounds. Similar to a radioactive mist, her art is all-encompassing. It pushes us to face the complex challenges in Australia's history and the current obstacles that Indigenous people across the country are still struggling to overcome. In Scarce's hands, the powerful contradicts yoke up elements of elegance and horror, producing a masterpiece that shows the triumph of the human spirit.
Related Article: 3XN/GXN's 'Aware: Architecture and Senses' Exhibition Emerges as a Transformative Exploration
