Ian’s Research Club 08: Tina Baum and Phoebe Scott

CONVERSATION

12 Jul

Written By Ian Tee

‘Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia’

Hello and welcome to Ian’s Research Club! I am your host Ian Tee. Today, I am thrilled to be speaking to curators Tina Baum and Phoebe Scott about the exhibition Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia at National Gallery Singapore.

Tina Baum has been Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at National Gallery of Australia since 2005. She is lead curator of Ever Present and has over 30 years of experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist and Communities within museums and art galleries throughout Australia. Phoebe Scott is Curator at National Gallery of Singapore and is also an Adjunct Lecturer in art history at the National University of Singapore.

We unpack how the show challenges stereotypes about First Nations people and what defines their art. For audiences encountering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art for the first time, this episode serves as a primer on their rich aesthetic and cultural traditions, as well as Australia’s complex history.

Click here to listen on Soundcloud. You can also find the podcast by searching “Ian’s Research Club” on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Tjungkara Ken, Sandra Ken, Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Maringka Tunkin, Pitjantjatjara people, Seven Sisters, 2018, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 200 x 300 cm, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2020, © Tjunkara Ken, Sandra Ken, Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Maringka Tunkin/Copyright Agency, 2022.

Installation view, Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia, National Gallery Singapore 2022. Image credit: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures.

Jonathan Jones, Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi peoples, 1978 Gadigal Country/Sydney, New South Wales, untitled (walam-wunga.galang), 2020–21, sandstone with metal, rubber and audio, dimensions variable, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra. Purchased with the assistance of Wesfarmers 2020, 2020.43.A–I, © Jonathan Jones.

Richard Bell, Kamilaroi/Kooma/Jiman/Goreng Goreng peoples, Embassy, 2013—ongoing, canvas tent with annex, aluminium frame, rope, synthetic polymer paint on board, digital video, colour, sound; archive, dimensions variable, Collection of the artist.

Christopher Pease, Minang/Wardandi/Bibbulmun peoples, Wrong side of the Hay (A deserted Indian village), 2005, oil on linen, 122 x 180 x 4.5 cm, The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, © Christopher Pease and Gallerysmith, Naarm/Melbourne.

Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia is on view at National Gallery Singapore from 27 May to 25 September 2022.

Ian's Research ClubTina BaumPhoebe ScottNational Gallery Singapore

Ian Tee

Ian Tee is Editor at A&M. He is interested in how learning experiences can be shared among practitioners across generations and contexts. In his writings and commissioned texts, he hopes to highlight the regional and international connections that sustain art ecosystems. Ian is also an artist whose work is concerned with the experience of seeing and how paintings are “read”. Of late, he is reflecting on what it means to practice and the forms it could take.

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