First Gallery exhibition for 2021
Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery is delighted to present Sera Waters: Domestic Arts 6 February – 14 March 2021.
The exhibition will be opened by Mayor Leon Stephens and Anthony Peluso, CEO, Country Arts South Australia
A new artwork specifically relating to the Mid North will be also unveiled. The artwork Breathing Routes has been commissioned by Country Arts SA to complement the touring exhibition Sera Waters: Domestic Arts, and will be on view at the Northern Festival Centre following the launch.
Drawing upon the rich history of Port Pirie, Breathing Routes uses stitched layers to focus upon the unique topographical and ecological features of the region; from the mangroves, to the inlet, and the Flinders Ranges. The overall impression resembles a cross-section of a cliff face, of stacked and staggered layers built up from the multifarious pasts this region has accumulated.
Through this work Waters draws attention to the importance of natural and human-made routes and roots, which map past and present activities and sustain this community for the next generations.
Breathing Routes will be displayed on the windows of the Northern Festival Centre from Saturday 6 February following Sera Waters: Domestic Arts opening event at the Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery on the Friday evening (5 February).
In Domestic Arts, Waters delves into her own family history to unravel the complexities of settler colonial home-making and the contemporary significance of traditional home-crafts.
Large-scale sculptures and intricate embroideries are used to re-imagine the familial home, celebrating the knowledge and creativity of ‘women’s work’, while interrogating its complicity in forms of colonisation and privilege.
First presented at ACE Open in 2017, Domestic Arts will travel to regional galleries throughout South Australia over 2020 and 2021.