Art Almanac congratulates leading First Nations artist Nicole Monks who was recently announced as the recipient of the Design Fringe: First Nations Commission. Monks is a multidisciplinary artist of Yamaji Wajarri, Dutch and English heritage. She is an award-winning design practitioner with a conceptual approach to her creative practice that involves furniture and objects, textiles, video, installation and performance. Through these modalities, Monks explores her Aboriginal culture and heritage and cross-cultural identity. She draws inspiration from Aboriginal philosophies of sustainability, innovation and collaboration.
Nicole Monks, Untitled, 2021, grass tree resin, kangaroo skatt, charcoal, driftwood, river reed, shell, kangaroo teeth, echidna quill and eucalyptus, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist
For this commission, Monks will create a large-scale installation of her winning work birli nganmanha (eating together), which will include crockery and cutlery made from natural materials found on Yamaji Country: grass tree resin, kangaroo teeth and skatt, driftwood, river reed, shell, acacia, and charcoal and echidna quill (wiradjuri), and will be presented as a floor-based artwork on red and white sand and charcoal.
‘Whilst on Country, I have been considering the complex stories behind these traditional materials that were transformed into everyday cultural belongings over such a long time. These natural materials connect us to nature and each other; the rituals surrounding their manufacturing; the collecting and foraging; the seasonal relocation to particular regions of home; the cultural burns; the grinding; and learning and knowledge transfer in the creation of a thriving lifestyle and connected community,’ Monks shares.
birli nganmanha (eating together) will form the centrepiece for the ‘Design Fringe’ exhibition at Linden New Art in St Kilda from 4 September to 21 November 2021, as part of Melbourne Fringe.
