Octopus 18: Mother Tongue

Initiated in 2001, the Octopus series of exhibitions supports ambitious curatorial practice, through engaging an invited curator annually to develop a project that draws upon their research interests and provides a platform for new forms of exhibition making. In 2018 Gertrude was delighted to be working with Kimberley Moulton, a Yorta Yorta woman, and the Senior Curator of South Eastern Aboriginal Collections, Melbourne Museum.

Octopus 2018: Mother Tongue featured female First Nations artists who use written and oral languages to both influence their work and shift the white paradigm of ownership in relation to land, bodies, and identity. This exhibition aimed to explore the way in which First Peoples can de–centre the western art canon through the intersection of art practice, language and cultural knowledge and highlighted the significant role women play in the assertion of Sovereignty.

Participating Artists: Joi Arcand (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Canada), Megan Cope (Quandamooka), Kirsten Lyttle (Waikato, Tainui A Whiro, Ngaati Tahinga, NZ (Melbourne based)), Vicki Couzens (Kirrae Wurrong), Lisa Hilli (Makurategete Vunatarai (clan) Tolai / Gunantuna people of Papua New Guinea) and Nakia Cadd.

The Octopus exhibition series was generously supported by Proclaim.