Title
Regalia
2015
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Melbourne
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Victoria
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Australia
- Cultural origin
- Kamilaroi, Northern Riverine region
- Date
- 2015
- Media categories
- Mixed media painting , Painting
- Materials used
- synthetic polymer paint on aluminium and steel
- Dimensions
- 240.0 x 560.0 cm
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Donated through the Australian Governments Cultural Gifts Program by Reko Rennie 2018
- Location
- North Building, ground level, Yiribana Gallery
- Accession number
- 125.2018.a-u
- Copyright
- © Reko Rennie, courtesy of the artist and Blackartprojects
- Artist information
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Reko Rennie
Works in the collection
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About
Reko Rennie is a Kamilaroi artist based in Melbourne whose works explore issues of Aboriginal identity within an urban environment. His commanding works are largely biographical and combine the iconography of his Kamilaroi heritage with stylistic elements of graffiti and street art.
Rennie came to attention with his large scale site-specific works and has since employed a variety of mediums and forms from spray painted installations, to neon signage, cast metal sculptures and prints on paper. Dominant in his practice is the trademark use of the repeated symbols of the diamond, Aboriginal flag and crown in brilliant, hard-edge form. The diamond relates to dendroglyphs (carved trees) found in Kamilaroi country, Rennie’s family’s country, while the flag is a symbol of Aboriginal pride and identity. The accompanying crown refers to the sovereignty of Aboriginal people, as Rennie states:
“I’ve used references to the crown, a symbol of royalty as well as a reference to Basquiat and to my graffiti background. The little square with the circle and the line is the aboriginal flag. The diamond is my family crest, it’s like a coat of arms. I have the [per]mission to use it as it is part of my lineage. These symbols combined together state Australia’s Aboriginal royalty. It’s the first people, the Indigenous people. Regalia is a reminder.” -
Places
Where the work was made
Melbourne
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
Yiribana Gallery: opening collection display, Art Gallery of New South Wales, North Building, Sydney, 03 Dec 2022–29 May 2023