Cross Examine
21 March - 4 May 2025
Cross Examine
Works from the Rockhampton Museum of Art Collection
Ruth Downes, A cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down, 2001-2003, Glass, resin and Bex packet in cardboard, fabric and synthetic foam, 11 x 18 x 14cm. Rockhampton Museum of Art Collection, Central Queensland Art Purchase through the Rockhampton Art Gallery Trust Art Acquisition Fund 2003. © the artist. Photograph: Mad Dog Productions, courtesy Rockhampton Museum of Art.
When prior communication is absent, how do multiple artists or artworks find common ground? Can a creative response be a one-sided conversation? How does context influence meaning?
Selecting works and curating exhibitions can often raise questions like these. Tension can also arise balancing the direction and voice of the curator with those of the artists.
For Cross Examine, unlikely connections were found in shared humour and materiality, and through the imposed yet playful direction of Daniel Qualischefski and Jan Hynes. The exhibition features selected works from the Rockhampton Museum of Art Collection by artists Ruth Downes, Nora Hanasy and Carmel Knowles. It is also a collective response to Hynes' work simultaneously displayed within Thoughts on the Cross. In a cyclical, meta act, Hynes has further responded to some of the loaned works, riffing off of their wordplay to make her own new works.
Visitors are invited to step into the role of interrogator when viewing these exhibitions - to discover the playful dialogue within and complete the visual conversations.
This exhibition has been developed in partnership with Rockhampton Museum of Art.
Also on display during this period
All Exhibitions
Open Hours
Tues - Fri: 9am-5pm
Sat - Sun: 9am-1pm
Gallery closed Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition install weeks.
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Qld, 4810 Australia
PO Box 2394,
Gurambilbarra (Townsville),
Qld, 4810 Australia
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Acknowledgement of Country
Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region - Bindal, Gugu Badhan, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal - as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
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Acknowledgements
Umbrella is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments. | Umbrella is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. | Townsville City Council is a funding partner of Umbrella's program.
