COnCREtE

Opening Friday 27 May, 6-8pm In many a Kalymnian household anywhere around the world can be found a proud mantle display of sea sponges. Once the main source of income for the island of Kalymnos, the sponge is both a commodity and a symbol of identity. Emerging artist and curator Koulla Roussos plays with concepts of fluidity and the concrete, incorporating the iconic sea sponge as a metaphor and tool for interrogating subjective manifestations of identity; asking the question, “How do I materialise my hybrid, fluid subjectivity for the anonymous spectator?” COnCREtE is an installation-based work incorporating sculpture, digital print, video and found objects. Koulla was born in Darwin. In 1987 she graduated from the University of Adelaide in Economics, and in 1993 with Honours in Law from the Northern Territory University. She was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Supreme Court of NT in 1995, and is currently a barrister with John Toohey Chambers, Darwin, specialising in criminal law. Koulla is also a practicing artist and curator. She has undertaken postgraduate studies in Art History and professes a keen interest in exploring the ways contemporary art can engage with public spaces and create new understandings of a place. She has curated several exhibitions in Darwin including Monsters from the Black Lagoon (2015), TaNTtrum (with Jonathan Saunders, 2013/2014), Origin of a Species (2014), Flash Art (2013), and a year-long monthly program of arthouse film at NCCA (The Vault, 2015).