Mittji by Mr Wanambi, commissioned by Powerhouse for the exhibition Eucalyptusdom and acquired 2021. Photographed by Zan Wimberley
This exhibition has ended.
What's On:

Arcadia

On now – 4 June 2023

Five local creative practitioners commissioned by Powerhouse respond to the blockbuster touring exhibition Gucci Garden Archetypes.
Closed exhibition

Eucalyptusdom

Finished 28 August 2022
Powerhouse Ultimo

900 species | 400 objects | 17 commissions

Eucalyptusdom reckons with our cultural history and ever-changing relationship with the gum tree, presenting over 400 objects from the Powerhouse Collection alongside 17 newly commissioned works by creative practitioners working across the fields of design, architecture, film, applied arts and performance. Taking its title from a 1930s text by Edward F Swain, one of Australia’s earliest conservationists, the exhibition will also reveal the Powerhouse Museum’s unique and longstanding relationship with the eucalypt.

Drawing on the Museum’s comprehensive design and applied arts collection, ceramics, furniture and a sledge made of spotted gum that went with Sir Douglas Mawson to Antarctica, Eucalyptusdom will also explore the eucalypt’s emergence as a symbol of Australian identity in post-federation Australia.

Commissioned practitioners presenting new work include Nicole Barakat and the Rohingya Women’s Development Organisation, Dean Cross, Julie Gough, First Nations Fashion and Design, Ashley Hay, Vera Hong, Jonathan Jones and Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM, Nicholas Mangan, Anna May Kirk, Luna Mrozik-Gawler, Jazz Money, Lucy Simpson, Yasmin Smith, Mr Wanambi, Sera Waters, Damien Wright and Bonhula Yunupingu and Justine Youssef.

A program of performances, talks and masterclasses will unpack the exhibition, exploring layered perspectives from First Nations artists, diverse creative practitioners and communities; investigating the realm of eucalypts through the complexity of place, arts, science and cultural heritage.

The exhibition has been designed collaboratively by Australian architect Richard Leplastrier AO, SJB architects, Jack Gillmer and Adam Haddow, and 3D spatial designer Vania Contreras, with an accompanying soundscape composed by Jane Sheldon and lighting design by Nick Schlieper.

Discover More

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View Mobile Friendly Guide

Request a copy of the large print guide upon arrival, or print it out before you arrive.

green-leaf

‘In Relation’ Podcast

Agatha Gothe-Snape and Emily McDaniel bring together artists, curators, and researchers to share learnings from their work with trees.
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last-stand

Preview ‘The Last Stand’ Photography

by Amanda Williams as seen in the publication, Eucalyptusdom

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