'Believe' by Peter Sharrock

Tandanya Art gallery is featuring an exhibition by Indigenous artist Peter Sharrock called Believe which I was lucky enough to go and see the other week. The idea behind Sharrock's work is representing and recording the everyday, through works that he has been able to create that form quite an intimate play with shadow, line and form in a variety if mediums. Part of exploring this notion of everyday moments within an a contemporary Australian lifestyle, Sharrock writes, is our interaction with the Australian lifestyle.

What truly struck me from seeing this exhibition is just how contemporary looking Sharrock's work is, completely transforming the image of contemporary Indigenous Australian art. Sharrock himself has said that he is part of a new generation of Indigenous artists that present a new and changing face on the traditional, as an additional but positive step. I think this is a really interesting and important point, Sharrock has made, especially after seeing this notion presented in his work and coming away with a much broader and greater appreciation for the scope of Indigenous art.

What really connected with me was the design elements and looks a lot of the pieces took on. Sharrock has achieved a degree in Visual Arts and Applied Design in 2005 and I think would have definitely contributed to the honeycomb looking style he has perfected over 12 years. The crispness and cleanness of the honeycomb shapes, together with the composition they create add a great understanding of space, form and lines, as well as harmony and attention to repetition. In this way I felt there was a real poetic and organic nature to the work, accompanied by many poems presented as the artists statements with a majority of the pieces. I was truly amazed at how successful Sharrock was able to apply this style to a variety of materials like paper, linen and ceramics. The attention to detail and painstaking carving that must have gone into each piece made me appreciate it even more. One example is The Mark (2011), which I really responded too because of it's composition and the incredible shadows it made behind it as another layer.

The Mark, 2011, yellow ochre, 640gsm paper, acrylic, varnish mounted on board., 80 x 80 x 11 cm

Whilst Sharrock's work is quite contemporary in it's style and ideas, I think there is still a connection he is making to his cultural Indigenous heritage. In The Mark and many other works, he uses a variety of coloured ochre's to add the colours to the papers and fabrics. Sharrock's family descent from Eastern Arrernte becomes part of his work and supports his identity and the connections to the Australian landscape. In this way I think Sharrock is successfully adapting the traditional within a contemporary understanding and style, that also challenges the publics notion of work by Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander artists.

References:

• "Believe, Peter Sharrock", Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Inc., 2011
• Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Inc.,"Believe, Peter Sharrock", (2011), http://www.tandanya.com.au/ed94/peter-sharrock-believe/, (accessed: 31/7/2011)
• Brett Williamson, (July 7 2011), "Inspiring Indigenous Art", ABC, http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/07/3263194.htm, (accessed: 11/8/2011)