TOM CIVIL
SPARKS
04.09.20 ~ 20.09.20
We are all learning on this journey of life. As a non-Indigenous person living and working on Wurundjeri Country I would like to pay my respects and dues to the Wurundjeri community and in particular Elders past and present and to those emerging; to acknowledge the suffering and injustices that were and are faced by the community, and also to share my admiration of the strength and resilience of the community to survive and thrive, now and into the future.
- Tom Civil
Depictions of gatherings around fires have been a constant in art and performance throughout history. This simple human behaviour of gathering around fire together as family, friends and community is universal. The fireplace creates opportunities to grow cultural understanding, to care for each other, to hold discussion, share knowledge, stories, history and to listen. They symbolise a cultural and societal need for connection, sharing and learning.
Fire has always been a force that people of Australia are conscious of, whether for survival, community or as a physical threat. The lands of Australia have changed over time and its relationship to fire is unbalanced. Generations of people since colonisation have altered and cleared so much of the landscape that it has caused permanent adjustments to our climate which have change the prevalence of these gatherings.
This simple idea that through these gatherings sparks, or moments of connection are made between people is the foundation of Tom Civil’s artistic expression. Civil’s works illustrate these ‘sparks’, the moments of these gatherings across time where connection between different communities of people, spirits and ancestral beings was made. Times when knowledge was shared, listening, care and developing an understanding for others was fostered.
The social and political climate of the last few years has been a stark reminder of the importance of these gatherings and the sparks that come from them. People all over the world are gathering in large groups to discuss and protest social injustice, racial inequality, the environmental emergency, gender and identity politics and many more issues that are important to our time.
Sparks can start fires. Civil hopes his artworks remind us of the importance of gathering and the potential that moments of connection between us has to create community and to give rise to discussion about different paths for the future. Civil’s works are a celebration of hope and camaraderie, of people working together in their communities to make the world a better place.
