Contemporary Indigenous artist Liz McNiven’s latest exhibition at Mawson Gallery is entitled Eye Object – in reference to her sculptures and paintings as simply objects of visual entertainment. 

From the Budjiti Nation of the Paroo River watershed country in northwest New South Wales and southwest Queensland, Liz holds a degree in Communication from the University of Canberra.

With work represented in major collections including the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Liz has an established reputation within the local cultural landscape and beyond.

Liz is currently employed by the Australian Film Commission as the first Curator of the Indigenous Collection at the National Film and Sound Archives, in Canberra. 

She has previously worked for major cultural institutions including the Museum of Victoria as a Program Director and Creative Producer and the National Gallery of Australia as a Project Coordinator and Arts Consultant. 

Awarded arts grants, from the Australia Council and Arts Queensland, Liz has been an artist in residence in Australia and Indonesia. 

As a travel writer for the Lonely Planet Guide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia, she penned entries on Indigenous art in Cairns and Brisbane, and has poetry published by Penguin, in the Human Rights Award Winning anthology Inside Black Australia, edited by Kevin Gilbert.

In her latest exhibition Eye Object at Mawson Gallery, Liz presents what she calls a “metal-morphosis.” 

“In the creative process I transform the metal objects from functional to aesthetic in purpose, heavy to light in appearance, masculine to feminine in nature and from a western to an Indigenous cultural perspective. Ultimately from discarded objects into prized ceramics like sculptures,” she explained. 

Geometric abstractions pervade and signify Liz’s work. Her patterns, composed of repetitive forms and juxtaposed colours, manipulate the rules of perspective to reveal optical illusions that engage the viewer in eye play.

“Within the works I identify varied perspectives that simultaneously emerge and disappear from view. These visual paradoxes demonstrate how easily our minds are tricked into misinterpreting information and distorting our perception of reality,” she said.

The exhibition begins at MAWSON GALLERY, 63 Wilkins Street, Mawson on 15 March and runs to 9 April.  Opening hours are 10.30am – 5.30pm Wednesday to Saturday or by appointment anytime.  Phone 6161 2177,  mobile 0438 473 902.

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High resolution photographs are available at www.mawsongallery.com.au/hi-res.html