About | "SUNA (Middle Ground)"

SUNA (Middle Ground)

Open Tuesday to Saturday: 11am – 2pm  

 

Artist Yuriyal Bridgeman invites audiences inside his monumental installation "SUNA (Middle Ground)", a space where connection, pause, and exchange are fostered and encouraged.     

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The installation is a replica of the artist’s home located in the Waghi Valley of Papua New Guinea (PNG), based on the principles of a Hausman and concept of a traditional round house. It forms the centrepiece for Bridgeman and his extended family, the Yuri tribe, and is the heart of his renowned artistic practice.    

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Acknowledged as a site of safety, rest, and creativity, the house serves as the meeting point for the collective founded by Bridgeman, Haus Yuriyal. More than their studio, the house is a place to gather in times of warfare, as well as to share and exchange cultural knowledge through artmaking. As Bridgeman states:  

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Suna is a word in Yuri language used to describe a middle ground, a safe and central location in a village ideal for gathering, and distant enough from potential conflicts at the borders… Our headquarters is a place of collaborative learning and expression where we tell stories, address community issues, perform ceremonial singing, workshop, draw, paint, rest and come together at times when it is most needed.  

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Bridgeman’s SUNA is a site in which to celebrate and reflect on the significant milestone of 50 years since PNG’s independence from Australia. The house pays tribute to the Kumul (Raggiana bird of paradise), PNG’s national bird as a symbol of unity and cultural pride.   

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Presented in the heart of UQ St Lucia, "SUNA (Middle Ground)" is a beacon to overcome difference and create pathways of deeper understanding with one another.  

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Please enter the house with this spirit. 

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"SUNA (Middle Ground)" is commissioned by UQ Arts. This Project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.