Yhonnie Scarce: The Light of Day

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