Vessels of Life

Presented in partnership with Kaiela Arts Shepparton, Vessels of Life is a mixed-media installation resulting from a 2015 partnership project between Kaiela Arts and the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) in 2015, titled Collisions: Cross-Cultural Collaborations, a partnership project. This project was a community cultural development partnership that provided an opportunity for artists from diverse cultural backgrounds to collaborate in making art.

Kaiela Dungala artists Aunty Cynthia Hardie (Yorta Yorta), Eva Ponting (Gunditjmara) and and Lyn Thorpe (Yorta Yorta) worked with Japanese born artist Naomi Ota over an 8 month period to create Vessels of Life. Each of the women are highly regarded for their specialist skills and knowledge of textiles and cultural traditions. Through the sharing of ideas, narratives and techniques, the artists engaged in an exploration of cultural difference and similarity, conflict and connection, forging relationships through the exchange of ideas and art-forms.

Download the catalogue here

Photos by Christian Capurro