Yhonnie Scarce – The Cultivation of Whiteness

Yhonnie Scarce uses glass as more than a mere material; acting as a lens and a mirror, it both reflects and exposes the tragedies of Australia’s colonisation. Like archaeological objects, Scarce uses her glass works to tell stories and bear witness. Akin to a gatherer of bush food Scarce creates glass-gatherings of the persecuted. The repetition of brittle ambiguous bodies collected for experimentation and examination conjures the relentless impact of colonization and the litany of abuses suffered by Aboriginal people.

Yhonnie Scarce was born in Woomera, South Australia. She belongs to the Kokatha and Nukunu peoples. One of the first contemporary Australian artists to explore the political and aesthetic power of glass, Scarce describes her work as “politically motivated and emotionally driven”.

Scarce is currently exhibiting in Personal Structures, a collateral exhibition of the 55th Venice Biennale and is also a current finalist of the Western Australia Indigenous Art Award. In 2012 Scarce held a residency and exhibited at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, University of Virginia USA and participated in Aboriginal art symposiums at Seattle Art Museum and the Hood Museum, New Hampshire. Later this year Scarce will be featured in Melbourne Now at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Please e-mail the gallery if you have any enquiries: dtanzer@ozemail.com.au

Yhonnie Scarce, The Cultivation of Whiteness, 2013, 60 pieces blown glass and glass beakers. (Detail)