Past Exhibitions at Kluge-Ruhe

Yhonnie Scarce: What They Wanted

September 11 – December 30
Yhonnie Scarce (Kokatha/Nukunu) works with blown glass and other media, drawing on her personal family history to investigate the idea of the “containment” of Aboriginal people as a legacy of colonization. Many of her works take the shape of Australian fruits and vegetables such as bush bananas, bush plums and long yams to metaphorically represent Aboriginal people, culture and traditions.

Yhonnie Scarce was born in Woomera in South Australia in 1973. She holds a Bachelors of Visual Arts from the University of South Australia and a Masters of Fine Art from Monash University in Melbourne. She was the South Australian recipient of the Inaugural Qantas Foundational Encouragement for Australian Contemporary Art Award. Her work has been exhibited throughout Australia and recently travelled to New York for an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art. She has completed several public art projects including a Melbourne Laneway Commission work titled “Iron Cross.” Her work is held in numerous public collections in Australia including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. She is represented by Diane Tanzer Gallery in Melbourne.

People of Substance by Jason Wing

May 18 – August 26, 2012
People of Substance was a collection of contemporary work by artist Jason Wing, an artist of Chinese (Cantonese) and Aboriginal (Biripi) heritage. This exhibition included a variety of site-specific installations by the artist, including Blacktown Dreaming, a bed composed of hypodermic syringes. People of Substance explored the idea that drug and alcohol abuse among Aboriginal people is a by-product of colonization, and addressed the fact that this is often overlooked by mainstream Australia. Rather than reinforce negative stereotypes, Wing aims to openly address the issue of addiction in regards to both Aboriginal Australia and the wider community.

Vernon Ah Kee - ill-like

January 24 – May 10, 2012
Vernon Ah Kee’s exhibition ill-like included drawings and text works exploring issues of race and racially motivated violence.

Vernon Ah Kee is a member of the Kuku Yalandji, Waanyi, Yidinji and Gugu Timithirr peoples. He is known for his candid explorations of treatment of Aboriginal people in Australia. His work has been exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, and he represented Australia at the 2009 Venice Biennale. This exhibition was organized in partnership with Milani Gallery, Brisbane and supported by the Queensland Government through the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA).