Artist Statement
Mandy Quadrio is a Trawlwoolway woman connected to her ancestral Countries of Tebrakunna, north-east Lutriwita also known as Tasmania, and the Laremairremener Country of Little Swanport, Oyster Bay Nation of eastern Lutriwita. She is also of Anglo-Irish heritage. Currently based in Meanjin / Brisbane, her artistic practice encompasses sculpture, installation, photography and mixed media.
Through her practice Quadrio works to unfix racist categorisations, historic denials and imposed invisibility in relation to her Aboriginal identity. Driven by materiality she embraces the industrially-produced material of steel wool where she manipulates abrasive steely fibres in order to reclaim and foreground culture through materials that have traditionally been used to “scrub away.” Combined with organic cultural objects such as ocean-derived bull kelp, ochre and natural fibres, she interweaves complex dialogues to forge narratives that anchor and solidify contemporary Palawa expression.
Both her work and process reference notions of erasure and presence in relation to socio-political realities around contested Australian, colonial histories. The re-configuration of natural and pre-fabricated materials, assembled into sculptures and installations constitute a disruption to historic and present-day power relations surrounding Tasmanian Aboriginality.
Artist Bio & CV
Mandy Quadrio was born in Naarm / Melbourne, Australia. After graduating from the Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art (CAIA) degree at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University in 2016, she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts with 1st Class Honours. In 2021 Mandy was awarded her Doctorate in Visual Arts (DVA) from Griffith University.
Mandy Quadrio
- Born: Naarm / Melbourne, Australia
- Mob/Country: Trawlwoolway people, Tebrakunna, north-east Lutriwita / Tasmania; Laremairremener people, Little Swanport, Oyster Bay Nation, eastern Lutriwita / Tasmania
Selected Education
- 2018 – 2021: Doctor of Visual Arts (DVA), Queensland College of Art (QCA), Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland
- 2017: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) 1st Class, QCA, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland
- 2014 – 2016: Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art (C.A.I.A.), QCA, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland
- 2013: Certificate III in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts, Southbank Institute of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland
- 2002 – 2007: Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology), University of Queensland (partial completion)
Exhibitions
2024
- Not Gone, (3rd iteration of Between Waves), Casula Powerhouse, Sydney
- Compositional Utterances, (2nd iteration), collaboration with Susan Hawkins and Jan Oliver, Cairns Courthouse Gallery, Cairns
- Not Gone, (2nd iteration of Between Waves), Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart
- croattee kanne menyenner/tales of 60,000 years , Artspace Mackay, Mackay, Queensland
- Weather / whether, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, Victoria
2023
- Out of the entanglements of colonisation, Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden
- Past Present Future: CAIA, A beginning conversation, The Courthouse Gallery, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), Cairns
- Objects of Culture and Science, Cross-cultural research project, Australia Council for the Arts, Tasmania and Sweden
- Look out! Colonisation, Schmick Contemporary, Haymarket, Sydney
- Her Beauty and Her Terror 2, Redcliffe Regional Art Gallery, Brisbane
- Not gone!, Between waves: Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Southbank, Melbourne
- Compositional Utterances, collaboration with Susan Hawkins and Jan Oliver, Uni of Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- woorringenner / women call out, collaboration with Jan Oliver, 5th Tamworth Textile Triennial, Tamworth, New South Wales
- Weather / whether, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, Victoria
2022
- Hold me while you can – endangered species, Kelp Culture 2022 Project, The Climate Foundation, Project Gallery, Griffith University, Brisbane (1st iteration); Woodford Folk Festival (2nd iteration)
- Australian First Nations Collaboration: Terra Incognita: Inclusiveness is a good way, San Teonisto Church, Treviso, Italy
- Beyond Misty Histories, MONA FOMA, Hobart Town Hall Underground, representing Constance ARI, Hobart
- Contributor to Uwe ka lani, Ola ka honua 2021 (When the heavens weep, the earth lives) Kaili Chun, APT10 GOMA, Brisbane
2021
- Water Rites, representing ACE Open, Tarnanthi Festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Contemporary Art, Adelaide
- Her Beauty and Her Terror 1, Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Brisbane
- Whose time are we on? ‘Slow moving waters,’ TarraWarra Biennial 2021, Melbourne
- QCA HDR Represent: A 2021 retrospective, POP Gallery, Brisbane
2020
- Uterine bags series 1, Sawtooth ARI, Launceston
- her, Milani Gallery CARPARK, Brisbane
- Strike at the foundation, Rite of Passage exhibition, Queensland University of Technology Art Museum, Brisbane
- 52proposalsforthe20s, Maria Lind’s Instagram project in collaboration with D Harding
2019
- here lies lies, Hobiennale 2019, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), representing Outer Space ARI, Hobart
- movement at the edge, Outer Space ARI, Brisbane
- with a steely resolve, Firstdraft ARI, Sydney
- The Country Within, Institute of Modern Art (IMA) Belltower Gallery, Brisbane
- Face to face to face, Brisbane and Elsewhere Untriennial (BEAUT), Kuiper Projects, Brisbane
- Pacifica Symposium exhibition, Webb Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane
2018
- Around and Within, Macquarie Bank Art Collection, Space Gallery, Barangaroo, Sydney
- Unleashed, Artisan, Brisbane
- Converse, Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane
- Speaking Beyond the Vitrine, Metro Arts, Brisbane
- Holes in History, Hatched, National Graduate Art Show, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Perth
- Continuing Culture, Maiwar Festival, Art Space Vitrines, Queen & Edward Streets, Elizabeth & Edward Streets, Brisbane CBD
2017
- Flying Arts Exhibition, Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane
- Challenging the Aesthetics of Mythic Identity, ‘Continuum’, Queensland College of Art Honours graduate showcase, Brisbane
2016
- Sculpture 16, Queensland College of Art graduate showcase, Brisbane
- Contributor to Art of the Skins, Possum Skin Cloak Project, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
- A Unified Field, Art from the Margins, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
- Kultcha, Jugglers Artspace, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
2015
- In the matter of…., Blak History Month, St Andrews War Memorial Hospital, Brisbane
2014
- Away from Country, Project Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane
Prizes / Awards
- 2023: Finalist: 2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Telstra NATSIAA), Darwin
- 2021: Finalist: 15 Artists 2021, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Brisbane
- 2019: Finalist: Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2019, Sydney
- 2018: Finalist: Hatched, National Graduate Art Show, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth
- 2017: Griffith University Medal for Outstanding Academic Excellence, Brisbane
- 2017: Winner: St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital Award for Artistic Merit, Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), Brisbane
- 2011: Finalist: Moreton Bay Regional Art Awards, Brisbane
Residencies
- 2024: Northsite artist residency, Cairns, north Queensland
- 2023: Artist in Residence, La Trobe Art Institute Artist Residency, Bendigo, Victoria
- 2023: Artist in Residence, Konstepidemin Art of the Epidemic, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2022: Australia Council Delegation: Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
- 2022: Australia Council Delegation: rīvus Sydney Biennale, Sydney
- 2022: Delegate: Australia Council Biennale Delegates Program
- 2022: ‘Recognising connections with respect,’ Monash University cultural exchange (2), Sarina, north-Queensland
- 2021: Open studio – BAD (Brisbane Art & Design) 2021 Festival, Brisbane
- 2021: Griffith University, Hope Street Artist Residency, Brisbane
- 2020: Griffith University, Hope Street Artist Residency, Brisbane
- 2020: Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery (QVMAG), Kings Cottage studio residency, Launceston
- 2020: ‘Recognising connections with respect,’ Monash University cultural exchange (1), Sarina, north-Queensland
- 2018: Australia Council Innovation Lab 2018: Sydney
- 2018: Australia Council Innovation Lab 2018: Hobart
Collections
- 2023 Harriett and Richard England collection, Tasmania
- 2021 Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston
- 2017 St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Brisbane
Public Art
- 2017 – 2021 Challenging the Aesthetics of Mythic Identity, Queensland College of Art Undercroft, Griffith University, Brisbane
- 2018 Continuing Culture (sculptural installations), Maiwar Festival, Brisbane CBD Art Space Vitrines, Corner Queen & Edward Streets, & Corner Elizabeth & Edward Streets, Brisbane CBD
Selected Presentations
- 2023: Panelist, Ethnographic Collections and the Remaking of Knowledge, Museum of World Cultures Symposium, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2023: Guest Lecturer, Dodging Voids, HDK-Valand Art and Design School, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2023: Guest Speaker, Dialogues between Indigenous Artists from Australia and Taiwan, with Vernon Ah Kee, Museum of Pre-history, Taitung, Taiwan
- 2023 Guest Speaker, Dialogues between Indigenous Artists from Australia and Taiwan, with Vernon Ah Kee, Kedagalan Centre, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2023: Panelist, ‘Land – Art caring for Country‘ with Dr Tyson Yunkaporta and Raymond Arnold, Out of the Everywhen Exhibition Symposium, Nipaluna / Hobart
- 2023: Decolonising imperatives, online collaborative discussion with Dr Jan Bryant, Art Programme and Bundanon
- 2021: Participant: QUT Symposium – Grounded in Place: Dialogues Between First Nation Artists in Australia, Taiwan, and Aotearoa
Selected employment
- 2024: Lecturer, ‘Art of Resistance,’ Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University, Brisbane
- 2024: Lecturer, ‘Indigenous Art and Protocols,’ Queensland College of Art and Design, Brisbane
- 2024: Facilitator, Art Starters Program, Children’s Art Centre, QAGOMA, Brisbane
- 2024: Facilitator, Create the Future cultural awareness workshops, South Bank TAFE, Brisbane
- 2022-23:Assessor, Honours/Masters Fine Art students, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
- 2022: Arts Queensland, Peer Assessor, Brisbane
Selected Media | Events | Publications
- 2024: Compositional Utterances, CAIRNS, Art Guide Australia Jan/Feb 2024
- 2024: Drifts of Invisibility 2023, Platypus Publications
- 2023: ARTS hub article, ‘First Nations artist exchange between Taiwan and Australia’, 13 July 2023, by Gina Fairley
- 2023: SBS / NITV Radio interview re ACCA show Not Gone 2023, 5 July 2023, by Bertrand Tungandame
- 2023: Interview with Vanessa Morris, Banksia, 3RRR Community Radio, Melbourne
- 2023: Ground into Place, peer reviewed article for Grounded in Place program, Pacific Arts Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2.
- 2022: Woven, ABC conducted interview – voice to musical lyrics of classical cross-over composition with Emily Sheppard, Tasmania
- 2022: Speaking within the kelp, written paper for Un Magazine, Un Projects Inc., Melbourne
- 2021: Artlink Indigenous (December) “Visualising Sovereignty,’ Review of Water Rites exhibition, Lady Shania Richards
- 2021: ‘Shaking things up, QVMAG Rehang,’ The Mercury Weekender (Tasmania), 28-29 August, Launceston
- 2021: ‘New permanent collection for QVMAG,’ 14 August, The Mercury (Tasmania), Launceston
- 2021: “First Look: Inside the 7th TarraWarra Biennial,” 25 March; https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/first-look-inside-the-7th-tarrawarra-biennial/news-story/0f5ecc677e82a60faa08ea429912438a
- 2020: 23 November, Interview – Examiner newspaper, re Sawtooth exhibition, Launceston
- 2020: Editorial Assistant, Gordon Bennett: Selected Writings, Published by Power Publications and Griffith University Art Museum
- 2019: December Interview with Ed Ayres: The Art Show, ABC Radio National: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-art-show/studio-artist:-mandy-quadrio/11785024
- 2019: December, Interview with Daniel Browning: AWAYE, ABC Radio National: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/mandy-quadrio/11443724
- 2019: December, WIN News, here lies lies exhibition for Hobiennale, Hobart, Tasmania
- 2019: December, here lies lies exhibition, Justine Youssef and Mandy Quadrio in conversation, NAVA Podcast: https://visualarts.net.au/podcasts/episode-49-mandy-quadrio/
- 2019: Art Guide, “Artist Run Initiatives take over Hobart in Hobiennale,” https://artguide.com.au/artist-run-initiatives-take-over-hobart-in-hobiennale
- 2018: July, Review of Hatched exhibition, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA), Pelican magazine
- 2018: May, Interview – Koori Mail re Hatched exhibition PICA, Perth
- 2018: Interview – re Metro Arts exhibition, Radio TalkBlak Program, BBM 98.7 FM Cairns
- 2018: Interview – re Metro Arts exhibition, Radio Goolarri, 6GME 99.7 FM Broome, Western Australia
- 2018: Online magazine interview re Metro Arts exhibition, by Tiarney Miekus, Art Guide Australia