ALONG THE SHORELINE

‘Gone Fishing’

In this celebratory display, artists from across the country share many waterside moments throughout history. For thousands of years, the waterways and seas of this continent have sustained life and carried important stories of creation. Their protection continues to fall to their traditional custodians, so that everyone may enjoy the unifying cultural, social and recreational nature of fishing.

A colourful abstract artwork painted using rarrk techniques.

Naomi Hobson / Kaantju/Umpila peoples / Australia QLD b.1978 / When the Tide Goes Out 2018 / Synthetic polymer paint on linen / 210 x 210cm / Purchased 2019. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: QAGOMA / © Naomi Hobson

Many works take in quiet and contemplative moments, such as the splash of a paddle in Wanyubi Marika’s Mumutthun (Paddle splash) 2006; the textural wonder that can be explored at a reef exposed at low tide in Naomi Hobson’s When the Tide Goes Out 2018; and painted recollections of site-specific tidal-zone fish traps by senior artist Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, which show the beauty of low tide on her father’s Country.

Fond memories of special waterside places are shared by Ian W Abdulla in Building humpies and finding food along the river at night 1997 and by Mavis Ngallametta in her large-scale painting Ngak-pungarichan (Clearwater) 2013, a wonderful depiction of a site near Aurukun in Far North Queensland, made using pigments sourced from the land.

Every angler knows that fishing isn’t fishing without misadventure. Gunybi Ganambarr shares his true story of an island stranding across two powerful artworks. The metal work Djirrit 2011 shows Ganambarr and his party on a boat, etched after a snapshot taken by their rescuers. With failed engines, their ingenious escape plan led them to fashion a traditional sail for their motorboat, made from their high-vis work shirts. With its distinctive triangular sail, Macassan sail 2020 demonstrates the Yolngu people’s longstanding cultural exchange with Macassan sailors from Sulawesi, Indonesia, who came to Australian waters annually (since at least the 1700s until the early 1900s) in their search for trepang (sea cucumber) on the southern tidal swells.