the trig point
engraved and pierced sheet copper sculptures, video and sound installation 5 minutes 52 seconds, copper pipe and red clay dyes muslin installation, aquatint etching on copper engraved plate
film and sound composition : Spencer Reid
the trig point is an imagining of local sacred architecture and of embodied space, a work of speculation, participation, and a vision of future making. Celestial and terrestrial spectral forms shimmer in their magnitude, transition in space and time. Skeletal geometry draped in silk orbits Alpha Centauri A; the trig point is a house of seven circles, filled with reverence for environment and perception of place, and a sonic performance of celestial navigation, migration and faith.
This project is supported by Creative Australia’s Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy (VACS) Major Commissioning Projects fund. the trig point is an iterative exhibition presented with pacing seven circles at Gertrude Contemporary (2026) and Dunedin Public art Gallery (2027).
new commission presented at Mosman Art Gallery, the trig point running until 9th August 2026
photograph : Jacquie Manning
pacing seven circles
engraved and pierced sheet copper sculptures, two channel video and sound installation 5 minutes 52 seconds, copper pipe and red clay dyes muslin installation, aquatint etching on copper engraved plate
film and sound composition : Spencer Reid
pacing seven circles looks at the mobility of sanctuary, in which relocation, adaptation and repurposing form a process of sacred place making. Existing outside of the representation of past and future, the installation as sacred space sits in a temporal geography of existence and fabulation. In pacing seven circles, assembly of geometry is the architectural infrastructure of a future oriented ritual. Draped in a fabric of blazing red pigment, it is unclear and fragile, although resilient in its radiating magnitude. Sculptural forms settle in the circles of fabric. The pierced copper forms are dislocating temporal markers of time, faith and science. Resonating with abstraction and vibration, the pulse of the installation is of one who finds sanctuary in the unacquainted landscape.
New commission present at Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne. pacing seven circles is an iterative exhibition presented with the trig point at Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney (2026) and Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Aotearoa New Zealand (2027)
photograph: Christian Capurro
the Hajja locates Nasr Altair above the horizon
commissioned part of Connections: MCA x Tate on until 1 March 2027
hand engraved and pierced copper, fine silver, 240 cm x 240 cm
The title of Shireen Taweel’s work refers to a sacred pilgrimage undertaken by an Arab Muslim woman of diaspora. The Hajja undertakes a Hajj pilgrimage using Arabic heritage practices of astronomy and celestial navigation to chart her course. The design of Taweel’s work is based on an operational hand-held astrolabe that the artist made to guide her own artistic pilgrimage across the continent. Departing from Sydney, she travelled through Wiradjuri, Ngemba, Yarluyandi, Arrernte, Warlpiri and Gija Countries over four weeks, orienting herself towards Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Eighty Mile Beach on Karajarri Country in Western Australia was the closest point to Mecca she could reach by travelling overland. Here, Taweel’s scaled-up device draws attention to the influence of the Arabic sciences on technology, culture and movement.
Left to right: Shireen Taweel, the Hajja locates Nasr Altair above the horizon, her coordinates adjusted, she navigates towards the centre, 2026, hand pierced and engraved sheet copper, fine silver, courtesy the artist and STATION Gallery; Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford, Camel Gap, 2004, ochres and pigment on linen, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Colin and Elizabeth Laverty, 2012, installation view Connections: MCA x Tate, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2026 © the artists, photograph: Hamish McIntosh