Megan Cope

2011-04-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Deep Water - SGAR (Spiro Grace Art Rooms) 2nd March, 2012
Solo Exhibition

Funeral Songs - MONA FOMA, January 2012
Exhibition Curated By Daniel Mudie Cunningham

Daniel Mudie Cunningham Website

After The Storm - Cairns Regional Gallery, August 2011
Exhibition curated by Averil Quail, Artistic Director CIAF

Art On James - New Farm 2011
Exhibition Curated By Level ARI

I Used To Skate Once 7, 2011
Exhibition Curated by Matt Brady

Nine Lives Gallery Art Auction - Brisbane Floods 2011

NEWflames Residency - Canopy Artspace - Cairns 2011

I went to Cairns for the NEWflames Residency, during the 5 weeks I met some great people and completed the following body of works titled Toponyms.
Many thanks Annie Gamble Myer for her support to the development of emerging Indigenous artists, Renai Grace and fellow resident artist Shannon Brett!

Toponyms
Place names are an important aspect of culture and identity as they provide location where history, events, landscapes and people are remembered, celebrated and continued.

Toponyms are always reflective of the dominant culture and its position upon the land in which it occupies. Military topographical maps (circa 1935-41) of regions around Cairns and Cooktown are highlighted in these works. The use of language and basic cartographic symbology reveal a multilayered fluid landscape with dual histories & dual identities.

Mater Hospital Commission - 2010

Pay Attention ~ Tony Albert 2010

2010-12-18T03:50:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year a good friend and amazingly talented Tony Albert very kindly invited me to participate in a project he was doing.

'Pay Attention' is a collaborative work with 25 of Tony's close friends. Each artist has created a thoughtful, individual work which collectively questions the problematic notion of “authenticity” in contemporary Aboriginal art and how the work of young Aboriginal artists is valued and interpreted in the art world.

The text is a direct quote taken from a lithograph by American artist Bruce Nauman held in the National Gallery of Australia. By referencing Nauman, Albert challenges the collection policies of some of the major Australian public art institutions whose collections, while reflecting international art trends, often fail to invest in what Albert and his peers recognise as significant indigenous art movements locally.

I feel very lucky to have contributed to this exhibition and admire Tony's strength and courage, below are some pictures of the process and exhibition which was showcased in the Roundabout Exhibition at the City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand in November 2010.

L - R: Megan Tamati-Quennell, Richard Bell, Shelley Jahnke, Megan Cope, Archie Moore & Laurie Nilsen.

Sunday At The Gallery - NAIDOC 2010

2010-08-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

Maps Matts

This workshop was held on NAIDOC Day, We wove together maps of Australia seen from a number of perspectives; Aboriginal Map, Native Flora, the first Geological map, Minerals & Resource maps etc to create multi-layered landscapes and views of how we see our environment and national identity.

Images Courtesy of Queensland Art Gallery
Photographer: Ray Fulton

Special Thanks to Ben Havenaar & Tony Albert for coming and helping with the major collaborative map.

Vanity

2010-04-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

The Wandering Room
at RAWSPACE, February 2010

To Heat, To Freeze, To Prick

This exhibition was curated by the Wandering Room and also exhibited the works of artists Madeleine Kelly & Elizabeth Willing.

'To Heat, To Freeze, To Prick' is the third installation of The Wandering Rooms Window Box Project at 99 Melbourne St, South Brisbane. That route you could often walk from West End to the City vis a vis if you prefer the road more traveled.

The artists, Madeleine Kelly, Megan Cope, and Elizabeth Willing have created ephemeral and intimate works, which all relate to the concept of flux. That which is delicate, fragile, and breakable. Using experimental materials, with an often minimal and neutral aesthetic, the power within these works is their simplicity and non-complicity to permanence. With reference to both architecture and the environment, the artists in ‘To Heat, To Freeze, To Prick’ take up various modes of ephemeral art making.

Vanity
2010

ARC Biennial - Fort Lytton

2009-09-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

Marutchi

The soundscape for Marutchi will be reminiscent of a war chant once sang by my ancestors prior to engaging in battle. A text based projection work will accompany the audio as a visual reference to the definitions of tribal lands, languages and their peripheries. This work also highlights what was taken away from Aboriginal people in order for the West to expand and secure economic interests.

Fort Lytton was used throughout the first and second world wars and even earlier to defend our city against possible enemy invasion and was a key quarantine centre through which many members of our multicultural community passed through on their entry to Australia.

Images from opening night:

Special thanks to Dominic Stephens for assisting with the production of the sound, Joshua & Dennis Walker for their cultural input.

New works - After the Flood Series

2009-04-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Artist Statement

Medium: Mixed media
(Military maps, Indian ink and synthetic polymer paint on canvas)

Toponymy, geomorphology and the latent consequences of rising sea levels throughout Queensland are the current areas of investigation for my latest body of work; this series focuses specifically on the river systems, flood plains and the built environment.

Military topographical maps (circa 1935-41) combined with basic cartographic symbology reveal a multilayered landscape, dual histories, dual identities and the cultural legacy of colonialism.

New watermarks redefine coastal areas according to geophysical maps illustrating the effects of a sea level rise of 5 metres; such cartography can be seen as central to future sustainability and highlights our fragile sense of place and identity in the land of fire & flood.

Toponomy and place names are an important aspect of culture and identity as they provide a location where history, events, landscapes and people are remembered, celebrated and continued.

These works seek to challenge the construct of time, place and fabric of our society that was formulated with the arrival of European settlers and convicts. Military maps echoing the myth of terra nullius depicting the land devoid from Aboriginal occupation now appropriated with significant names & places to local indigenous groups. The result manifests a visual dual history and a quest to decolonise our surrounding landscapes.

2009-04-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Artist CV

Born in Brisbane
1982

Education

2006 Bachelor of Visual Arts (Visual Communication)

Deakin University, Institute of Koori Education

Solo Exhibitions

2005 Enigmatic Visions, Robina Art Gallery, Gold Coast

Group Exhibitions

2009 Arc Biennial, Fort Lytton, Brisbane

2009 Tinyworlds, Artisan, Brisbane

2009 23 Degrees, Wooloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane

2009 Pine Street Gallery,Chippendale, Sydney

2009 Gallery South, Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

2008 Coolamon carrying the culture, Brisbane City Library

2008 Dhagun ya Borrogura Land and Sea, Gold Coast

2007 Tales from the Cold Ghost, black+neon, Gold Coast

2007 50 Brooches, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

2007 50 Brooches, Craft Queensland, Brisbane

2006 JaMaPaCaHeMe, Koori Heritage Trust, Melbourne

2006 Cultural Connection through Ceramics, Gallery Twentyfive, India

2001 World Environment Day, Eco Gallery, Gold Coast

2000 ReUnification, Sylvester’s Bar & Lounge, Gold Coast

Awards

2009 Finalist, Sunshine Coast Art Award

2009 Finalist, Clayton Utz Travelling Scholarship

2008 Highly Commended, Gold Coast Indigenous Art & Design Award

2006 Youth Category, Gold Coast Indigenous Art & Design Award

Commissions

2009 Private Collectors

2005 Eco Village Currumbin

2002 SLaM Network, Spirituality, Leadership and Management

2002 Gold Coast Young Peoples Forum

2001 Gold Coast & Hinterland Environment Council Murals

Professional Activities:

2009 Creative Director of BARI Festival (Brisbane Artist Run Initiatives), Brisbane

2008/09 Sessional Lecturing, Indigenous Critique. Griffith University QCA,Indigenous Unit, Brisbane

2008/09 University Tutor, Indigenous Art Practices & Protocols. Griffith University, Brisbane

2007/08/09 Co-Project Director of tinygold ARI and co-curator for "Tales from the Cold Ghost I,II & III". Gold Coast

2007 Co-Founder of Gold Coast based artist-run-initiative 'tinygold'

Workshops

2009 Kelvin Grove State College, Stradbroke Island

2008 Queensland Art Teachers Association, Griffith University, QCA

2008 Kelvin Grove State College, Stradbroke Island

2002 Gold Coast Young Peoples Forum, National Youth Week

2001 Gold Coast & Hinterland Environment, World Environment Day

2000 Zillmere Multicultural Festival

2000 Gold Coast & Hinterland Environment, World Environment Day

Bibliography

2008 ABC Radio Gold Coast, Arts & Entertainment, August 25
2008 Gold Coast Bulletin, August 23
2008 Gold Coast Sun, August 20
2007 UV Magazine Issue#5, September edition
2007 Gold Coast Bulletin, August 25
2007 Gold Coast Sun, August 22
2007 Tuesday Magazine, August 21
2006 Gatherings II, Keeaira Press
2006 Havoc Womyn’s Magazine, Secret Envelope Productions
2006 Today, New Delhi News, March 23
2005 Gold Coast Bulletin, February 22
2001 McPherson News, January 25
1998 Taraba, DECCD Tasmania

2009-04-14T04:55:00.001-07:00

Artist interested in mapping, identity, dualisms, environment, Aboriginal & Australian history, bantam chickens and gardening sometimes.