wa

'What road are you going to take?' Nyoongar artist Laurel Nannup's exhibition arrives at State Library of WA

Rhiannon Clarke - August 4, 2023

As a young girl Ms Nauup was taken as a member of the Stolen Generations to live at Wandering Mission. (Image: artwork by Laurel Nannup)

One of Perth's iconic landmarks is now on display at a must-see exhibition of works by one of the state's most celebrated artists.

Nyoongar artist Laurel Nannup, who is most recognisable for her work 'First Contact', the 5-metre-tall cast aluminium 'bird in a boat' that has been permanently installed at Perth's Elizabeth Quay, now has a new intimate exhibition on showcase.

Ms Nannup's 'What road are you going to take?' is curated by her son Brett Nannup and as well as 'First Contact', features some of her major printmaking pieces.

As a young girl Ms Nauup was taken to live at Wandering Mission – one of the Stolen Generations, having been born in Carrolup, WA in 1943.

The 5-metre-tall cast aluminium 'bird in a boat'. (Image: ABC Emma Wynne)

The exhibition describes intimate stories of her experiences as a girl through an extraordinary body of work, which mainly consist of black and white paintings.

In the process of developing the exhibition, some of Ms Nannup's photographs have been added to Storylines, an Indigenous Online Archive managed by the State Library of Western Australia.

The Storylines archive provides for the digital return of photos and other materials directly to Aboriginal families, communities, and people.

It is also helping to identify many of the photographs in the JS Battye Collection at the State Library, as many of these photographs have been donated without Aboriginal knowledge.

The title of the exhibition, 'What road are you going to take?' is borrowed from Ms Nannup's 2001 artwork, marking a turning point in her art career.

The print depicts a vivid dream where an old Nyoongar man meets her at the crossroads and asks her, 'What road are you going to take?'.

'We were never told how to tell if the melon was ripe' (Image: art by Laurel Nannup)

Both looking at each other Ms Nannup awakens from the dream in a fright only to realise that that the old Nyoongar man was her old grandfather telling her to 'Continue with what you started'.

Ms Nannup went on to earn first class Honours in Fine Arts at Curtin University.

'What road are you going to take?' is currently on exhibition at the State Library of Western Australia until Sunday October 1. Entry is free of charge.