Artspace Mackay reopens and welcomes mass coral artwork  

Published on 29 July 2024

Artspace Mackay's 17-metre foyer wall will become the blank canvas of Townsville-based artist Lisa Ashcroft this week.

Ms Ashcroft will create the first site-specific mural on the wall for 2024.

During this residency project, Scientific Reef Repeat, Ashcroft will create an ambitious installation of more than 10,000 paper coral cut-outs.

The project will continue her recent investigations into environmental custodianship and artificial regeneration of The Great Barrier Reef.

Mayor Greg Williamson said it was great to have “The Wall” artist-in-residence exhibition program back after a lengthy hiatus due to gallery refurbishments.

“It’s tremendous to have our team back in our regional gallery after an extensive refurbishment program that included new flooring, walls and a state-of-the-art climate control system,” Mayor Williamson said.

Lisa Ashcroft: The Wall — Scientific Reef Repeat will officially open to the public as a finished artwork on Friday, August 9, but residents are welcome to interact with Ms Ashcroft during the installation process during the gallery’s opening hours.

Mayor Williamson said there would also be a special digital projection on the Artspace Mackay façade.

“Supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund, First Nations’ artist Leon Namai will project a digital animation on the exterior façade nightly from 6pm to 9pm on August 9, 10 and 11,” he said.

“This will celebrate the gallery’s re-opening and coincide with Daly Bay Illuminate.

“The animation will incorporate drone footage of Leon’s large-scale sand designs made on the beach.”

Also opening on August 9 will be proppaNOW: OCURRENT AFFAIR.

Artspace Mackay Acting Director Lauren Turton said OCCURRENT AFFAIR was a major exhibition featuring new and recent works by Brisbane-established Aboriginal artist collective proppaNOW.

“We are really excited to announce that the exhibition will also include a painted mural, conceptualised by proppaNOW artist Tony Albert and delivered and painted by local Mackay school students,” Ms Turton said.

“OCCURRENT AFFAIR will reflect on the ongoing state of affairs affecting Aboriginal communities – issues that are relevant to all Australians – while celebrating the strength, resilience and continuity of Aboriginal culture,” she said.

The other exhibition rounding out Artspace Mackay’s August to October offerings is Dias Prabu: Relentlines — Through the Window of the Past.

Dias Prabu is an artist, painter, muralist, and creator of batik tulis (hand-drawn batik) living and working in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Batik is a traditional process of applying wax and dyes to fabric to achieve intricate and colourful patterns.

Prabu employs the technique of traditional batik tulis to create large-scale hand dyed textile works as a vessel for storytelling and connecting with his ancestry.

The designs, informed by Indonesian folklore and legends, are represented through drawings of hybrid figures, mythological beings and contemporary refiguring of traditional Indonesian motifs and symbols.

For more information on exhibitions coming to Artspace Mackay, head to artspacemackay.com.au.

Dias PRABU We and the Universe 2 (detail) 2023, batik with synthetic dyes on fabric, 146cm x 29.5cm.
Image courtesy the artist.