The Perpetual Restart
Ally McKay | Annelize Mulder | Sharna Barker | Tess Mehonoshen
16-18 May
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT | Saturday 17 May 3-5pm
ARTIST TALK | Saturday 17 May, 2.30pm
IMAGE: Tess Mehonoshen, as I prepare to leave (detail), 2022, Cootharaba clay, thread, dimensions variable. Image courtesy the artist and VCA.
The Perpetual Restart brings together the works of four artists—Sharna Barker, Ally McKay, Tess Mehonoshen, and Annelize Mulder —who delve into the conceptual and aesthetic power of repetition. These artists embrace repetition in form, shape, and motion across installation and sculpture.
The exhibition examines how recurring actions or movements can cement and destabilise memory, establish routine, and create structure. Each artist uses repetition not merely as a method but as a means of (re)constructing and deconstructing identity, space, and meaning. Through their works, the artists demonstrate that repetition is not about duplication but about transformation, as each iteration not only carries the imprints of previous ones but also results in subtle shifts and changes.
The Perpetual Restart invites viewers to engage with the idea that repetition is both a process of perpetuation and a gesture towards the infinite. Perceptions of finality are reconsidered by suggesting that each repeated action, form, or idea offers an opportunity to revisit and reimagine what we know.
Through this lens, repetition becomes a dynamic force, constantly evolving and reconfiguring the world around us, as well as within us. Together, these works dynamically interact with the site's architecture to underscore repetitive gestures that shape our understanding of form, self, and belonging. Here the artists highlight gaps and lean into unpredictability.
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT | Saturday 17 May 3-5pm
ARTIST TALK | Saturday 17 May, 2.30pm
GALLERY HOURS
Friday 16 May 10-2pm
Saturday 17 May 10-2pm
Sunday 18 May 10-1pm
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ally McKay is a Meanjin/Brisbane based artist, writer and educator. Her creative pursuits are characterised by a keen interest in experimental installation, material poetics, and conceptual explorations of communication. With a Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) from Queensland College of Art, Griffith University (2015), McKay’s works have been showcased nationally, including Hazelhurst Art Gallery and Griffith University Art Galleries. Notable accolades include Highly Commended at Hazelhurst Art on Paper Awards (2017) and finalist in Banyule Award for Works on Paper (2022). McKay’s solo exhibitions include Paper parts at Logan Art Gallery (2025), A P A R T at The Project Gallery (2022) and Taut at Wreckers Artspace (2018). Featured in publications like Garland Magazine, her pieces are held in esteemed collections such as Griffith Artworks and The State Library of Queensland.
@allymckayartist | www.allymckay.net
Annelize Mulder investigates the layered experiences of migration, grounded in her relocation from South Africa. Her practice engages with the role of memory in shaping these experiences, utilising sculpture, installation, and multimedia to reflect the interplay between clarity and fragmentation of memory. Annelize was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in 2022 and completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) in 2016 at the Queensland College of Art and Design (QCAD). Her work has been exhibited in London, Johannesburg, Tasmania, Geelong, and Melbourne. Recent exhibitions include Acts of Translation (Geelong, 2023), Attenuated: The Shape of Migrated Memory (Brisbane, 2022), and Vulnerable Bodies (Logan Art Gallery, 2020). She has received an Arts Queensland RSN stART grant, undertaken an internship with Urban Art Projects (UAP), was selected for the Metro Arts Artist residency program, and participated in House Conspiracy’s inaugural residency series in West End, Brisbane. Annelize lives and works in Brisbane/Meanjin.
@annelize_mulder | www.annelizemulder.com
Tess Mehonoshen is an emerging visual artist, working primarily in site-specific sculpture and installation. Her site-specific practice reveals the shifting emotional burdens of her protracted, careful carrying of place. Originally from the Sunshine Coast (QLD), she is currently based in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, New Zealand. In 2021 she completed a Masters of Fine Art (First Class) at Victoria College of Art, receiving the NGVWA Award for her graduate installation work. Following early career studies at Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE, she attended Queensland College of Art (2011-2015) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours, First Class). In 2017 she was awarded the Blacktown City Art Prize. Tess has undertaken studio residency programs at House Conspiracy (QLD, 2017), Hill End (NSW, 2018), Fremantle Arts Centre (WA, 2020) and Carss Bush Park (NSW, 2020). Her work has been exhibited interstate and internationally, and is held in both public and private collections.
@tessmehonoshenart | www.tessmehonshen.com
Sharna Barker is a visual artist and arts worker based in Meanjin/Brisbane. Sharna’s practice explores themes of (self)metamorphosis and liminality underpinned by theories of (unconscious) desire. Working in painting and sculpture, Sharna uses a precarious, tactile, and flesh-like materiality to interrogate how materials and forms can be representational tools that speak to an intertwinement of corporeality, embodied experiences, and conceptual meaning. Sharna holds a Doctor of Visual Art from the Queensland Collage of Art, Griffith University. She has exhibited with Linden New Art, Outer Space ARI, Logan Art Gallery, Hazelhurst Arts Centre, QCA Galleries, KEPK art space, Side Gallery, Sure Studio, and Here Space where she is a current studio artist in residence. Sharna was a finalist in the 2021 and 2023 Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award. Her work is held in private collections.
@sharna.a.barker | www.sharnabarker.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project is supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund - a partnership between Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland, and Sunshine Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
