Australian Aboriginal artist Yhonnie Scarce (b. 1973) was born in Woomera, South Australia, and belongs to the Kokatha and Nukunu peoples. Working with glass, Scarce explores the political nature and aesthetic qualities of the material – in particular corresponding to the crystallisation of desert sand as a result of British nuclear tests on her homeland during 1956-63.

For her residency at Ikon, Scarce has been researching materials held in archives at the University of Birmingham. These include documents related to the scientific research of German physicists Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls, which led to the development of the atom bomb. Alongside her research, Scarce has been making a new work at the University of Wolverhampton, home to one of the UK’s largest glassblowing facilities.

Read Yhonnie Scarce’s interview with Crafts Council here.

Organised by Ikon and TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Australia, with consultant curator Hetti Perkins. Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Australian High Commission in the United Kingdom.

This project has received assistance from NETS Victoria’s Exhibition Development Fund, supported by Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.

Looking Glass: Judy Watson and Yhonnie Scarce is on view at TarraWarra Museum of Art from 28 November 2020 – 8 March 2021. It travels to Flinders University Museum of Art (26 April – 2 July 2021), Cairns Art Gallery (11 December 2021 – 20 Feb 2022), Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Art Museum (12 March – 15 May 2022), Plimsoll Gallery (TAS) (12 August – 23 October 2022), Mildura Arts Centre (8 June – 6 August 2023) and Wangaratta Art Gallery (26 August – 22 October 2023).