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In contrast to previous Lume installations devoted to the work of Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dalí and Claude Monet with fellow impressionists, the latest exhibition in Newfields’ digital art galleries showcases living artists.
Kate Constantine, one of the artists featured in “Connection: Land, Water, Sky—Art & Music from Indigenous Australians,” visited Indianapolis last week to help open the show.
Constantine, whose artist name is Konstantina, updates the dot-painting traditions of her Gadigal ancestors who occupied the present site of Australia’s largest city, Sydney. The “Connection” exhibition gives attendees a glimpse of hundreds of Indigenous nations, cultures and language groups that have been present on the continent for 65,000 years.
“I think we’re a very timeless people, but for any culture to continue it must move. Nothing is static,” Constantine told IBJ. “My work is probably some of the most contemporary, or least like what would be considered traditional paintings. That’s a part of our evolution. That’s part of us moving forward, but still with a great nod to our heritage and ancestors.”
Similar to past Lume installations, “Connection” uses more than 100 projectors to cover 30,000 square feet of surface area and paintings are deconstructed and set in motion.
But photographs, modern music and occasionally swirling images on the floor add liveliness to the digital galleries that debuted on the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s fourth floor in 2021.
“We had worked in somewhat of a similar vein for a number of years, and I didn’t want people to have the excuse that they’ve been to the Lume before,” Indianapolis Museum of Art Director Belinda Tate said of the change of pace offered by “Connection.” “I really wanted to create a renewed and refreshed energy.”
Constantine created two murals for Lume’s interactive room, which this time gives attendees a chance to color her illustrations of land, water and sky creatures: kangaroo, platypus and kookaburra, respectively. The customized images are then electronically scanned into the in-motion murals on two walls.
One mural represents day, while the other represents night.
“Traditionally, we don’t believe in linear time,” Constantine said during a media preview at the museum. “We don’t believe in the past, the present or the future. We believe in an ‘everywhen.’”
Tate said that perspective is important when experiencing the “Connection” exhibit.
“I love this kind of endless nature of time that the Aboriginal cultures have,” Tate said. “If we think of time in that way, it requires us to take more responsibility for our personal actions. Sometimes we think, ‘You only live once,’ or ‘Live in the moment.’ Well, no, our actions have long-lasting implications and not just for us but for others. Let’s make some decisions that demonstrate our collective responsibility to each other.”
Following the Lume’s previous format, the final room of the “Connection” exhibit is focused on displays of tangible art. Eight examples of Indigenous Australian paintings from the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection can be viewed.
Harrison Eiteljorg and his wife, Sonja Eiteljorg, donated the paintings—which feature natural pigment on eucalyptus bark—to the museum in 1989. The northern Australian works have been in storage until now.
“So much of the pattern-making we see in these artworks is part of body paints or scarification or sacred practices within these communities,” Robin Cooper, the museum’s manager of curatorial affairs, said during the media preview. “A lot of that knowledge is not known beyond the elder system or initiation system.”
“Connection: Land, Water, Sky—Art & Music from Indigenous Australians” will be on display until February 2026.
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