Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 2, 2001; type C photograph; 84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 2, 2001; type C photograph; 84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire

Wild Times Call consists of a mixture of large paintings, small pastel drawings, blanket pieces, aluminium wall sculptures as well as a series of seven large sepia photographs. Through a broad range of media, Foley articulates experiences of Aboriginal peoples in Australia and, with this series of photographs, extrapolates her knowledge to the similar experiences of indigenous peoples in other countries.

Exhibition Dates: 13 March – 6 April 2002

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery presents in the large gallery Wild Times Call, an exhibition of recent work by Fiona Foley. The exhibition consists of a mixture of large paintings, small pastel drawings, blanket pieces, aluminium wall sculptures as well as a series of seven large sepia photographs.

The photographs were first exhibited in 2001 at the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum in the USA. In the catalogue from the Florida exhibition, Djon Mundine describes how, for white colonialists, photography became "a vehicle for recording new and exotic lands and informing the 'unexotic' Europe of the strange landscape, flora, fauna, and people. In the case of the postcard print fashion from around 1900; to entice tourists to cruise to [exotic] places ... Ultimately and blatantly however, photography became another tool of colonialism, to label, control, dehumanise and disempower their subjects who could only reply in defiant gaze at the lens controlled by someone else."

Foley's photographs comment on the history of the photography of indigenous peoples from colonised lands. "For Indigenous people the camera's central role has been in transforming but really stereotyping, our cultures." In more recent times, "Indigenous people have moved behind the camera, firstly replacing the documenter, then creatively reinterpreting their photographic history."

Foley's paintings are meditations on iconic fragments of the natural world of her native home, Fraser Island in Queensland. The reduced forms of Mangrove pods and Nautilus shells are placed upon monochromatic grounds. Their simple, forceful compositions and colouring resonate beyond the sum of their components, like talismanic presences. Through a broad range of media, Foley articulates experiences of Aboriginal peoples in Australia and, with this series of photographs, extrapolates her knowledge to the similar experiences of indigenous peoples in other countries.

Fiona Foley is represented in all major public collections in Australia. In 2001, there were solo exhibitions of her work at the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane and at the Contemporary Art Museum at the University of South Florida, Tampa, USA. In 2000, she was included in a group show toured by the National Gallery of Australia to the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia, Aboriginal Art in Modern Worlds, as well as Bonheurs des Antipodes at the Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France. She has curated exhibitions and lectured extensively on the subject of indigenous and colonial culture. Foley was one of the founding members of the Boomali Aboriginal Artist Co-operative in Sydney. She has exhibited with Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery since 1988.

(Djon Mundine quotations from Fiona Foley: River of Corn, exh. cat. University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, USA, 2001)

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Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 3, 2001; type C photograph; 84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Wild Times Call 3, 2001
type C photograph
84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 4, 2001; type C photograph; 84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Wild Times Call 4, 2001
type C photograph
84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 5, 2001; type C photograph; 84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Wild Times Call 5, 2001
type C photograph
84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 6, 2001; type C photograph; 102 x 84 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Wild Times Call 6, 2001
type C photograph
102 x 84 cm; series of 7 images
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 1, 2001; type C photograph; 102 x 84 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Wild Times Call 1, 2001
type C photograph
102 x 84 cm; series of 7 images
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Wild Times Call 7, 2001; type C photograph; 84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images; Edition of 10; enquire
Wild Times Call 7, 2001
type C photograph
84 x 102 cm; series of 7 images
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley On The Blanket 1, 2002; Vinyl lettering on woollen blanket; 175 x 200 cm; enquire
On The Blanket 1, 2002
Vinyl lettering on woollen blanket
175 x 200 cm
Fiona Foley On The Blanket 2, 2002; Vinyl lettering on woollen blanket; 213 x 206 cm; enquire
On The Blanket 2, 2002
Vinyl lettering on woollen blanket
213 x 206 cm
Fiona Foley On The Blanket 3, 2002; Vinyl lettering on woollen blanket; 155 x 206 cm; enquire
On The Blanket 3, 2002
Vinyl lettering on woollen blanket
155 x 206 cm
Fiona Foley Bogong Moths (Detail), 2002; Aluminium; enquire
Bogong Moths (Detail), 2002
Aluminium
Fiona Foley Mangrove Pods, 0; Aluminium; 20 x 160 cm; 6 pieces; Edition of 10; enquire
Mangrove Pods, 0
Aluminium
20 x 160 cm; 6 pieces
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Bogong Moths, 2002; Aluminium; 6 x 11 cm; 95 pieces; Edition of 10; enquire
Bogong Moths, 2002
Aluminium
6 x 11 cm; 95 pieces
Edition of 10
Fiona Foley Mangrove Pods 1, 2002; oil on linen; 83 x 70 cm; enquire
Mangrove Pods 1, 2002
oil on linen
83 x 70 cm
Fiona Foley Mangrove Pods 3, 2002; oil on linen; 154 x 160 cm; enquire
Mangrove Pods 3, 2002
oil on linen
154 x 160 cm
Fiona Foley Turtle Bones, 2002; oil on linen; 100 x 207 cm; enquire
Turtle Bones, 2002
oil on linen
100 x 207 cm
Fiona Foley Mangrove Pods 4, 2002; oil on linen; 207 x 120 cm; enquire
Mangrove Pods 4, 2002
oil on linen
207 x 120 cm
Fiona Foley Nautilus Shells, 2001; oil on linen; 151.5 x 103 cm; enquire
Nautilus Shells, 2001
oil on linen
151.5 x 103 cm
Fiona Foley Mangrove Pods 2, 2002; oil on linen; 115 x 72 cm; enquire
Mangrove Pods 2, 2002
oil on linen
115 x 72 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 5, 2001; mixed media; 13.5 x 17.5 cm; enquire
Journey 5, 2001
mixed media
13.5 x 17.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 1, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 1, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 2, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 2, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 3, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 3, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 4, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 4, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 6, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 6, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 7, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 7, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 8, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 8, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm
Fiona Foley Journey 9, 2001; mixed media; 17.5 x 13.5 cm; enquire
Journey 9, 2001
mixed media
17.5 x 13.5 cm