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Unwritten #1-5 2017

Artwork Unwritten #1-5 this artwork made of Synthetic polymer paint and charcoal on paper, created in 2017-01-01
Accession No.
2017.378.001-005
Date Created
2017
Gallery location
Not on public display
Department
Indigenous Australian Art
Dimensions A
Five sheets: 150 x 100cm (each)
Media Category
Drawing
Secondary Media Category
synthetic polymer paint
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint and charcoal on paper
Place Created
Brisbane
Credit Line
Purchased 2017 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation

In his ‘Unwritten’ series, Vernon Ah Kee creates images of abstracted faces and bodies. The artist shapes these forms through repeated charcoal lines that read as cuts in the surface of the paper, suggesting the infliction of violence and suffering. Rendered without distinguishing features, the figures are voiceless — in the process of emerging from the pages and not yet human or fully formed. Born in 1967 — the year that Australia voted to change the Constitution to count Indigenous people in its population — Ah Kee explores the treatment, perception and inclusion of First Nations peoples in Australia.

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Rights information

© Vernon Ah Kee/Copyright Agency

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Stories featuring this object

A detail view of a collage work appearing as a kaleidoscopic circle of hand-cut photographs
LIVING PATTERNS

QAGOMA COLLECTION: ‘Living Patterns’

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Exhibitions featuring this object

An installation view of a wood sculpture of a dog / Camp dog (Ku)

‘I, Object’

Aug 2019 - Aug 2021

Installation view of ‘Living Patterns’, featuring works by (l–r) Paul Bai, Timothy Cook, Tyza Hart and Jonny Niesche, Watermall, QAG, October 2023 / © The artists / Photograph: C Callistemon, QAGOMA

‘Living Patterns’

Sep 2023 - Feb 2024

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Images of artworks on this website may be used for research, study and other related exceptions as defined by section 40 of the Copyright Act 1968 (as amended) without applying for specific permission. All other uses of the content of this site (where applicable).  Refer these requests to reproductions. For more information, see copyright and reproductions on the QAGOMA website.