Yhonnie Scarce: The Light of Day

Edited by Clothilde Bullen with contributions by Timmah Ball, Kelly Gellatly, Natalie Harkin and Tamsin Hong

Born in 1973 in Woomera, South Australia, Internationally acclaimed Kokatha and Nukunu artist Yhonnie Scarce is unique in the Australian contemporary arts landscape, using the medium of glass to narrate the colonial trauma and displacement of Australian First Nations people, as well as exposing the impact of mining and nuclear destruction globally and locally.

Inviting her audiences in with sculptures and architectural installations, deployed at every conceivable scale, Scarce’s singular forms and immersive environments seem designed to keep her audiences oscillating between the natural and the uncanny. Scarce describes her role as being a ‘conduit to her ancestors’, and the origins of her practice are in her relationships with Country, including the removal of her people from their lands and devastating effects of nuclear testing.

26 of Scarce’s major works are discussed here in contributions from four writers with close relationships to Scarce and her practice. They are accompanied by the artist’s own reflections, made in conversation with the editor, Clothilde Bullen. The publication also introduces audiences to Scarce’s on going photographic fieldwork, shown here for the first time through a selection of images of uninhabited sites of nuclear and genocidal trauma.

Scarce has exhibited internationally at both public and private institutions and her work is featured within numerous collections around the world. This publication is the first major monograph of Scarce’s work and coincides with the opening of Scarce’s solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia as part of the 2024 Perth Festival.

Edited by Clothilde Bullen, with essays by Timmah Ball, Kelly Gellatly, Natalie Harkin and Tamsin Hong, this volume is an image-rich, comprehensive survey of Scarce’s major works, providing a point of entry to those who are not familiar with her oeuvre, while also offering greater insight into her practice for those already familiar with her work.