An exhibition by women artists from Australia, Canada and New Zealand who have all explored the transformative potential of ritual will open at the USC Art Gallery on Friday 14 September at 6.15pm.

Dark Rituals, Magical Relics: From the little art spell book includes artworks by Amalie Atkins, Margaret Baguley, Beata Batorowicz, Linda Clark, Ellie Coleman, Lisa Reihana, and Susan Shantz. It will be officially opened by USC Associate Professor of Art and Design Lisa Chandler.

Gallery Manager and exhibition co-curator Megan Williams said the exhibition explored ritual as a concept and a process to subvert and disrupt gender, time, power and representational norms.

“Through a variety of media including video, sculpture, installation and photography, these artists delve into the undercurrents of emotion, relationships, nature, culture and religion to craft artworks that heed messages of warning, protection and caution,” Ms Williams said.

“We are thrilled to be debuting a number of very ambitious new works that have been made for this exhibition, including a work by renowned Maori artist Lisa Reihana.

“Lisa represented New Zealand at the 2017 Venice Biennale and her work was critically acclaimed as a highlight of the event.

“We will be showing Beware Sacred Spaces, a video piece filmed in ultra-high definition and presented in 3D that records a dance involving weapons used only by Maori women in ancient times,” Ms Williams said.

Exhibition co-curator and exhibiting artist Dr Beata Batorowicz said all but one of the artists in the exhibition were from or were currently living and working in a regional area.

“This exhibition focusses on regional exchange, nationally and internationally, and values the work being made by artists in regional Australia,” Dr Batorowicz said.

“It also shows that collaboration can cultivate professional networks and opportunities for cultural exchange internationally.”

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through its arts funding and advisory body, the Australia Council, and will tour to The Academy Gallery at the University of Tasmania, Launceston, and to Canada in 2019.

To register for the opening event on Friday 14 September and/or for artist talks with Margaret Baguley, Beata Batorowicz, Linda Clark and Ellie Coleman on Saturday 15 September, go to www.usc.edu.au/art-gallery

The exhibition will continue until Saturday 3 November.

The USC Art Gallery is located at USC’s Sunshine Coast Campus on Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs. It is open free to the public from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and closed Sundays and public holidays.

— Terry Walsh