6 May – October 2019 | Maree Clarke

Ancestral Memory

Ancestral Memory tells the story of water on the lands of the Kulin Nation. Diving into the history of Old Quad’s location, the Kulin Nation, cultural advisor Jefa Greenaway says, ‘[w]hat transpired from this research was that the story of water has always been and continues to be very important to this place. It is a story that traverses the campus.’ A powerful demonstration of resilience, Clarke’s Ancestral Memory launches the Old Quad into the next chapter while keeping a firm grasp on the past.

Maree Clarke is a Mutti Mutti/Wemba Wemba/Yorta Yorta/Boon Wurrung artist. A renowned cultural ‘revivifyer’, Clarke has been active in reclaiming the visual/material culture of her Ancestors and re-thinking this in line with her lived experiences as a contemporary southeast Australian Aboriginal artist.

Weekdays from 6 May | Tom Nicholson

Towards a glass monument

Commissioned to celebrate the re-launch of the historic Old Quad, Towards a glass monument comprises two screens of stained glass, each measuring over four metres in length and five metres in height, as well as six cast bronze plaques providing context for the piece and its history. The design for the commission originated from two lithographs of Mesozoic ferns which were fossilized in sandstone. The lithographs were published in Prodromus to the Palaeontology of Victoria: or, Figures and Descriptions of Victorian Organic Remains, 1874, written by Frederick McCoy, one of the University of Melbourne’s first four professors.

Tom Nicholson is a Melbourne based artist known for large-scale projects and drawing-based work. He is an alumnus of the University of Melbourne and is Senior Lecturer in Drawing at Monash Art Design & Architecture (MADA), Monash University.

Coming soon

Multivocal

A celebration of music at the University of Melbourne.