SENTA TAFT HENDRY MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS
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SIMON MUNRO
YEARNING TO YARN November 2018 - May 2019 The Yearning to Yarn: Artefact in Research exhibition at the University Gallery Museum (the Senta Taft-Hendry Museum), is an extension of a 2017 Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education Excellence (CEEHE) funded project, Yearning to Yarn: Using Aboriginal ways of knowing to support clinical placement experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professional students. The exhibition features a creative display of research materials—drawing on the practice of artefact making into the process of capturing and analysing the qualitative research data—and Munro’s own beautifully crafted artefacts. As a key element of the research output for this project, the exhibition is documented, and forms part of the final research report. DOWNLOAD the exhibition catalogue Read about Simon's research here |
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RECENT DONATION TO THE MUSEUM COLLECTION
TAPA BARK PAINTING In 2020 and again 2021, the University Galleries accepted a generous donation from the Newcastle Art Gallery collection. This donation included four Tongan tapa cloths and three ceramic sculptures, which are now held in the University Museum Collection. The largest of the bark cloths measures over 4.8 metres wide and is in excellent condition. These tapa cloths are adorned with striking patterns and motifs created through painting with vegetable dyes directly onto the bark. One bark in particular has been decorated with heraldic and inscription otuamo tocakoh okutofia, accompanied by elements of Tongan Royalty coat of arms designs. The three earthenware ceramic pots in the donation were purchased from Southport, Queensland in the mid 1970s for the Newcastle Art Gallery collection and are typical of east Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. The three vessels are typical of traditional work from this region, created for storage and food preparation. For the creation of these vessels, clay is prepared through specific selection, mixing, and tempering and picking out stones and roots. Many of these vessels depict figures and are spiral coil or slab built, hand carved and modelled with faces, legs, birds and other decorations before being dried then fired and painted with natural pigments. These three excellent examples of pottery and ceramic arts from this region are on display in the Senta Taft Hendry Museum at Callaghan campus. Find out more about the Senta Taft Hendry Museum and collection here. Image: Tapa Bark Painting, 110 x 154.9cm, c. 1965. The University Art Collection. |
