The artist known as r e a (born 1962) is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

artist, also known as r e a Saunders, sometimes written Rea Saunders. r e a is a lecturer within the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Unit at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. The foundation of their work began in photography, digital media, sound and

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...

. Today r e a works in a research-led interdisciplinary, experimental

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

s practice.

Early life

r e a was born in

Coonabarabran Coonabarabran () is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 2,387, Material was copied from th ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, in 1962. They are of the

Gamilaraay The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Austr ...

and Wailwan people from the Central West region of NSW, and

Biripi The Birrbay people, also spelt Birpai, Biripi, Birippi and variant spellings, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. They share a dialect continuum with the Worimi people. Language The Gathang language (aka Gadjang or Worimi) ...

people, from the

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...

. r e a's family moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1968.

Education

r e a initially studied a

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

course in Electrical Trades at

Petersham, New South Wales Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Petersham is known ...

in 1989, and then started to move towards art a year later enrolled to studying Creative Arts at the

Eora Centre TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory bod ...

Darlington, New South Wales Darlington is a small, inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlington is located about three kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. At the tim ...

. r e a has received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Arts) from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

in 1993, a Masters of Visual Arts at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, a Masters of Science, Digital Imaging and Design,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

& a PhD in Visual Anthropology, from the

UNSW Art & Design The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, ...

, in 2019.

Career

Exhibition

r e a started to exhibit work in 1990 at the Eora Centre, then in 1992, in their second year undergraduate at CoFA, University of New South Wales. r e a's first digital work: ''Look Who's Calling The Kettle Black'' was made in 1992, followed by new works in 1993 at the

Performance Space Performance Space, later Performance Space at Carriageworks, is an arts organisation based in Sydney, Australia, that develops and presents interdisciplinary arts and experimental theatre. History Performance Space was established in 1983 in a ...

and

Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative The Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative was founded in 1987 in the Sydney suburb of Redfern, New South Wales. Among the legacies of the Co-operative are the Deadly Awards for achievement in the Indigenous Australian community, which occu ...

in Sydney. In 1994 their work was exhibited in ''Localities of Desire: Contemporary Art in an International World'', ''Don’t Leave Me This Way: Art in the Age of AIDS,'' ''Blackness: Blak City Culture!'' and ''True Colours: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists Raise the Flag''. In 1995 r e a's first

solo exhibition A solo show or solo exhibition is an art exhibition, exhibition of the work of only one artist. Rather than a group of artists who collaborate to form an exhibition. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photogr ...

was titled ''Ripped Into Pieces: Blak Body'', at Performance Space. in 1997, at the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists' Co-op they had a solo exhibition as a part of the 1997 ''Festival of the Dreaming: a celebration of the art and culture of Indigenous peoples from around the world'' called ''EYE/I'MMABLAKPIECE''. The installation art exhibited aimed to challenge the male gaze through the use of mirrors. in 1998 r e a exhibited work in ''bLAK bABE(z) & kWEER kAT(z)'' with

Brook Andrew Brook Andrew (born 1970 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian contemporary artist. Work Andrew has exhibited internationally since 1996. His work focuses on Western narratives, especially relating to colonialism in the Australian context, and ...

Work

Her Collection ''Look Who's Calling The Kettle Black'' is a collection of photographic print in three colours.

References

{{Authority control 1962 births Living people Gamilaraay Australian National University alumni New York University alumni Academic staff of the University of Queensland Australian photographers Australian installation artists Australian women installation artists