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Detail of Claudia Moodoonuthi, 'Mapping the Modern', 2017, Watercolour on paper. Photo courtesy of Artbank.
For immediate release – Tuesday 26 September, 2017
Artbank and Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) today revealed Brisbane artist Claudia Moodoonuthi’s large-scale work Mapping the Modern (2017) as the Artbank + QPAC Commission.
This annual commission, now in its fifth year, provides the opportunity for early to mid-career Queensland based artists to realise the creation of a new, large scale work on paper. Artists and artist collectives were invited to submit proposals to create a two dimensional artwork in photomedia, drawing, printmedia, collage or painting on paper.
As the recipient of the commission, Claudia received funding to produce her work, which has been acquired for the Artbank collection and will be on display in the QPAC Russell Street Wine Bar for a period of twelve months from late 2017. It will then be available for lease following its return from QPAC in 2018.
A recent graduate of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art at Griffith University, Claudia’s body of work to date reflects a strong connection to country, having spent the first seven years of her life on Bentinck and Mornington Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria until relocating to Aurukun in 2003. Claudia’s bold and colourful paintings are greatly influenced by her language, tribe, history, and family, including her late great-grandmother May Moodoonuthi and the late Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda (Mrs Gabori). The artist’s relaxed style allows her to create intimate close-up portraits that reflect her experiences in remote communities.
Mapping the Modern was inspired by Claudia’s visit to Bentinck Island in 2012. Claudia depicts the island and the fish traps, influenced by her family of painters. The painting is a spiritual reference to her time with her mentor Netta Loogatha and Kaiadilt family. It depicts Netta’s stories about the moon man coming up from the ocean into the sky and coming down again and also references Netta Loogatha’s Dog Woman, another story from her Kaiadilt family about a special location north of Bentinck Island in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria.
Says Tony Stephens, Artbank’s Director: “This commission marks the fifth year of our partnership with QPAC, a collaboration developed to promote and support contemporary Queensland artists through commission, acquisition and public display. The awarding of this year’s commission to Claudia recognises her as an artist with a strong early career practice and very bright future ahead of her. We are certain audiences will enjoy the work as much as we already do and thanks to the ongoing commitment of QPAC to supporting Queensland based creatives, everyone will have the opportunity to view the work later this year.”
For further information, please contact Artbank via enquiries@artbank.gov.au or call 1800 251 651.
For over 37 years, Artbank has been at the forefront of the Australian contemporary art sector. Established in 1980 as a federal government support program, Artbank provides direct support to Australian contemporary artists through the acquisition of their work and promotes the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. Artbank funds its operations through a unique leasing program; working with individuals, companies, governments and embassies in over seventy countries across the globe. With approximately 10,000 works by over 3,500 artists, Artbank holds one of the largest collections of Australian contemporary art in the world which, includes some of the best examples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artwork produced over the past four decades. As the largest collector of Australian art in the country, Artbank’s support for artists is often applied early in their careers, with further acquisitions made at regular intervals to form an extensive and constantly evolving collection of Australian contemporary art.
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) is located within Queensland’s vibrant cultural precinct at South Bank, Brisbane. The Centre is focused on creating a world where the performing arts matter to everyone. Welcoming around 1.3 million visitors and presenting around 1200 performances annually the QPAC experience extends beyond the theatre with a range of unique spaces to eat, drink, and enjoy free live entertainment.
