Meriam artist from Mer Island in the Torres Strait, Gail Mabo, is the daughter of iconic civil rights activist Eddie Koiki Mabo. In House of Cards, Mabo explores memories from childhood and those of her parents, Eddie and Bonita Mabo, as well as her own adult life in all its fragility.
Gail Mabo in her exhibition ‘House of Cards,’ Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, Gurambilbarra (Townsville) 2021. Courtesy the artist and Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts
“It is how the stories told around the kitchen table–about dad growing up and mum growing–came to life.”
– Gail Mabo
Now based in Townsville, the artist translates her experiences into life-sized impressions of their respective childhood homes and laborious detail; viewers are transported through time to each mise-en-scene.
House of Cards emerged after Mabo was forced to move from her childhood home, where she had lived since 1965. Due to a divorce-related court order, the artist had to leave the place she’d been since she was six months old; yet she shares that the house and its memories live on.
Within the installation, Mabo adorns the walls with memories; scribbles that capture a child-like sense to “get something out.” The three-part work – her father’s childhood home, her mother’s, and the one she grew up in – are embedded with a dreamlike quality, where the artist remembers her memories, sometimes accurately, other times embellished with imagination.
“I’ll have a go–as an artist, I can step into that realm and have fun doing it.”
– Gail Mabo
Rockhampton Museum of Art
29 October 2022 to 19 February 2023
Queensland
