About the exhibition

Yhonnie Scarce’s exhibition Woomera – field recording is the outcome of the artist receiving The Blake Established Artist Residency at the 68th Blake Prize (2024). The exhibition features newly made work that uses flags as powerful symbols of identity, culture and history to bring attention to the ongoing impacts of nuclear testing that occurred in Maralinga, South Australia on Kokatha Country between 1952-63 and current weapon testing within the Woomera Prohibited Area, Kokatha Country.

Artist Statement

'Returning to my birthplace of Woomera in South Australia has become a pilgrimage. The Woomera base has, in many ways, shaped my art practice over the years. While the base itself continues to change, the history of the militarisation of my Kokatha Country remains ever present.

For me, creating a body of work that engages with ongoing weapons testing is essential—not only to address the desecration of land, but also to remember what has taken place within the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA).

I see flags as powerful symbols of identity, culture, and history—long used as markers of communication and belonging. Yet they also carry more complex histories, having at times functioned as instruments of colonisation and markers of military occupation. I have created a series of flags from photographs taken during my fieldwork in South Australia, incorporating archival images of nuclear fallout clouds from the Maralinga tests in South Australia undertaken by Britain with Australian Government approval from 1952 to 1963.'

- Yhonnie Scarce

Artist Bio

Yhonnie Scarce was born in Woomera, South Australia, and belongs to the Kokatha and Nukunu peoples. Scarce’s interdisciplinary practice explores the political nature and aesthetic qualities of glass and photography.

Her work often references the ongoing effects of colonisation on Aboriginal people; in particular, her research has explored the impact of the removal and relocation of Aboriginal people from their homelands and the forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

Family history is central to Scarce’s work, drawing on the strength of her ancestors, she offers herself as a conduit, sharing their significant stories from the past.

Photograph of Yhonnie Scarce by Janelle Low

Exhibition Launch

Please RSVP to attend the launch of Woomera - field recording on Saturday 27th June, 2-4pm. This exhibition will launch alongside Stories the Land Wears: Mia Lovelock and Observations in Oil: John Wang.

RSVP via this link:  Winter Exhibitions Launch | Liverpool Powerhouse