Exhibition

Drawn by stones

Image: Ray Chan See Kwong, NEW RE NEW (detail), 2018, 49 teacups: various local Chuen Lung clays, glazed and fired; produced as part of the 2018 public art and community project Hi! Hill!, by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Organised by the Art Promotion Office with Curatorial Partner (art in-situ): Make A Difference Institute, Hong Kong; courtesy the artist; Mounted on River bench, recycled spotted gum bench and assorted hardwood legs, wax, by Bryden Williams of Mount Framing, commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; photo: Christian Capurro for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, 2021

When

27 August 2022 -
06 November 2022

Location

Wollongong Art Gallery

46 Burelli St, Wollongong NSW 2500

Touring exhibition

Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios
6 April - 14 May 2022

Watch This Space
Australian Ceramics Triennale

22 July - 28 July 2022

Wollongong Art Gallery
27 August - 6 November 2022

Drawn by stones is a touring exhibition that brings together artists who utilise the ceramic medium to interrogate contested histories, stolen land, Indigenous sovereignty, and national identity. Exhibiting artists from Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan investigate ‘nationhood’ and ownership through ceramics and demonstrate how the ceramic form can both memorialise and tell alternative histories. 

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 – and through the work of exhibiting artists, aims to expand the relevance of ceramic histories, dialogues and interrogations of land, place, sovereignty and ownership across Asia and Australia.

Originally iterated as a small exhibition project for 4A Centre’s Haymarket gallery, Drawn by stones has captured a strong interest nationally, and is now a major touring project, which premiered in 2021 at Counihan Gallery in Brunswick on Wurundjeri land. From 2022, the exhibition expands to tour nationally with works from Dean Cross, Ray Chan, and Wen-Hsi Harman, newly- commissioned pieces by Penny Evans, Ruth Ju-shih Li and Jody Rallah, as well as a  community-engaged array of public programs.

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

The touring exhibition is currently on show at Wollongong Art Gallery from 27 August - 6 November 2022.

Access the Roomsheet here.

Exhibition Opening
Friday 2 September 2022 | 5:30pm - 8pm

Exhibition walk-through
Wednesday 7 September 2022 | 11am - 12pm
Free | Held in-person at Wollongong Art Gallery

Ceramics on film
Free and online
View the films here
Black exhibition signage that reads, 'Drawn by stones: Dean Cross, Ray Chan See Kwong with Chuen Lung Community Members, Penny Evans, Ruth Ju-Shih Li, Wen-Hsi Harman with Lakaw, Dogin, Palos, Lisin, and Byimu, Jody Rallah.' Behind are transparent plinths and a wall painting in brown ochre.
Left: Dean Cross, Full Moon Dreaming, 2016, Ngunnawal Ochre and fibre-based pen on craft paper, diptych, 152 x 102cm; both works courtesy the artist and Yavuz Gallery. Right: Dean Cross, Nothing Changes (apart/hide), 2016, Ngunnawal Ochre and fibre-based pen on craft paper, triptych, 228 x 102cml photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022
Jody Rallah, More than Stones: Through the Generations (detail), 2021, clay bodies, charcoal (Yuggera Country), fired ceramic coolamons, looped audio track, wall drawing with Yuggera clay bodies and charcoals; commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; courtesy the artist; photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022
Jody Rallah, More than Stones: Through the Generations (detail), 2021, clay bodies, charcoal (Yuggera Country), fired ceramic coolamons, looped audio track, wall drawing with Yuggera clay bodies and charcoals; commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; courtesy the artist; photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022.
Ruth Ju-shih Li, Topography of Memory, 2021 – ongoing, unfired raw clay, porcelain and string, custom installation setting with black aluminium gloss floor plinth and ceiling mounting system; 3050mm x 1500mm, commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022, courtesy the artist.
Ray Chan See Kwong, NEW RE NEW, 2018, 49 teacups: various local Chuen Lung clays, glazed and fired; produced as part of the 2018 public art and community project Hi! Hill!, by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, organised by the Art Promotion Office with Curatorial Partner (art in-situ): Make A Difference Institute, Hong Kong; courtesy the artist; Mounted on River bench, recycled spotted gum bench and assorted hardwood legs, wax, by Bryden Williams of Mount Framing, commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022; courtesy the artist.
Lakaw, Dogin, Palos, Lisin and Byimu, installation of Amis earthenware pottery with (from left to right): Tatolonan, Amis earthenware pottery, 9 x 8.5 x 5.5cm; Atomo, Amis earthenware pottery, 12 x 10 x 9cm; Diwas, ceremonial Amis earthenware pottery, 8.3 x 7 x 8cm; Koleng, Amis earthenware pottery, 13 x 9 x 7cm; all works courtesy Wen-Hsi Harman and Amis earthenware potters Lakaw, Dogin, Palos, Lisin and Byimu; photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022.
Wen-Hsi Harman, Theory of land, from Land Series, 2015, handbuilt royale porcelain, with enamel, gold luster, multiple firings, 60 x 53 x 3cm; courtesy the artist; mounted on: blackwood bench and assorted recycled hardwood legs, shou sugi-ban finish, wax, by Bryden Williams of Mount Framing, commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; photo: Rhiannon Hopley for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, 2022, courtesy the artist.
  

Top image: Image: Ray Chan See Kwong, NEW RE NEW (detail), 2018, 49 teacups: various local Chuen Lung clays, glazed and fired; produced as part of the 2018 public art and community project Hi! Hill!, by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Organised by the Art Promotion Office with Curatorial Partner (art in-situ): Make A Difference Institute, Hong Kong; courtesy the artist; Mounted on River bench, recycled spotted gum bench and assorted hardwood legs, wax, by Bryden Williams of Mount Framing, commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 2021; photo: Christian Capurro for Drawn by stones, presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art at Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, 2021

Drawn by stones is a 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art touring project. The exhibition and associated programming are supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, and the NSW Government through Create NSW, with development support for this exhibition provided by the Ministry of Culture Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney, and The Gordon Darling Foundation.