The Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart has opened a new permanent installation overlooking Berriedale Bay.
‘In Absence’, a nine-metre-high timber tower created by artist Yhonnie Scarce and Melbourne architects Aaron Roberts and Kim Bridgland, opened to the public on Sunday.
The work was originally created for the 2019 NGV Architecture Commission before being moved to its new permanent home at Mona.
The tower takes inspiration from traditional eel traps and is adorned with 1,400 hand-blown black glass murnong or daisy yams.
Jarrod Rawlins, Mona’s chief curator, said the installation had been a long time coming.
“After many years of preparations, we are thrilled to open In Absence to the public,” Rawlins said.
“Being inside this pavilion gives me a sense of calm, each visit becomes a short moment of contemplation, which is why I go down there often.”
Scarce, a Kokatha/Nukunu artist, said the work was designed to honour thousands of years of Indigenous achievement.
“We wanted to celebrate the amazing work of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people going back thousands of years,” she said.
“For me, it’s about providing a space for people to listen, learn and tell stories.”
Bridgland described the installation as a place of strength and refuge.
“In Absence is about strength and solace,” Bridgland said.
“Its external solidity declares presence and speaks to resistance against dispossession.”
“From within it offers sanctuary, a place to contemplate the enduring continuity of community and culture across thousands of generations.”
Roberts said the tower’s design interacted with natural light and changed throughout the day.
“Inside, In Absence frames sky country, directing and drawing light across its surface, changing dramatically over the course of the day with the angle of the sun,” Roberts said.
“Having spent most of my younger life here in Tasmania I’ve enjoyed seeing it hold the sky here.”
