Concrete Playground

Featuring a tiny wooden echidna with oversized quills and a Tasmanian Devil fashioned from patchwork Tassie sea kelp, this new exhibition of contemporary Indigenous animal sculpture is so much more than just cute, quaint or crafty.

The artists featured in Menagerie hail from all over our continent, and represent an impressive breadth of style and practice. The animals represent not only a significant part of the artist’s, and their community’s, day-to-day life, but stand for greater stories, linked to country and creation. One thing shared is the obvious affinity the artists have with their subjects, which comes through in their playful approach to art making.

Opening this week at two venues, Menagerie is a unique chance for contemporary Indigenous sculpture to stand against the cutting-edge design of Object Gallery and the classic natural history collections of the Australian Museum.