4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios would like to invite you to the opening of Drawn by stones at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios on Wednesday 6 April, from 6pm-8pm. Click here to RSVP.

Drawn by stones brings together artists who utilise the ceramic medium to interrogate contested histories, stolen land, First Nations sovereignty, and national identity. Taking its title from Marvin Bell’s 1984 poem Drawn by Stones, by Earth, by Things That Have Been in the Fire, this exhibition recognises that the foundations of ceramic practice lie in the earth.  Through the works of exhibiting artists, Drawn by stones aims to expand the relevance of ceramic histories, dialogues and interrogations of land, place, sovereignty and ownership across Asia and Australia.

The exhibition is grounded by Monuments, a site-responsive, ongoing installation by contemporary visual artist and Worimi man Dean Cross, which was staged at 4A’s Haymarket gallery in 2020.

Each iteration of Monuments features handfuls of white ochre from Ngunnawal/ Ngambri Country across the gallery floors in a grid-like formation. The ochre was gathered by the artist’s father on their property, with permission from local elder and custodian of the land Aunty Matilda House. Considerations of clay and Country continue in Cross’ exhibited works Nothing Changes (apart/hide) and Full Moon Dreaming. 

Highlighted in the exhibition are ceramic practices, topographies and materialities in times of change–explored through contemporary ceramic projects by Wen-His Harman (Taiwan/United Kingdom) with Amis potters Lakaw, Dogin, Palos, Lisin, and Byimu (Amis/Taiwan); and Ray Chan See Kwong (Hong Kong) with Chuen Lung community members.

Newly commissioned works from Biri Gubba, Yuggera and Warangu contemporary practitioner Jody Rallah (Yuggera/Brisbane) and Ruth Ju-shih Li (Cammeraygal/Sydney and Taiwan) are activated through workshop-led and site specific practice with stories, clay and exchange. Drawn by stones’ national tour also includes 4A’s 2022 text-based commission from Gamilaraay visual and ceramic artist Penny Evans (Bundjalung/Lismore), which considers language and formations of clay in context.

Drawn by stones is curated by Bridie Moran with Assistant Curators Annette An-Jen Liu and Jody Rallah.
 

What: Drawn by stones - opening night
When: Wednesday 6 April, 6pm-8pm
Where: Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios,
Upper Level, 164 Longueville Road, Lane Cove NSW 2066

This event coincides with the solo show opening for Longing for Home by Pamela Leung.