Jaz Corr, an Aboriginal artist and educator based on the South Coast, is ready to unveil her latest exhibition which is complex, interactive, and deeply rooted in the real and ongoing issues of Australia's past and present.

Entitled Wounds, her new exhibition will be on display at the SEVENMARKS Gallery in Kiama from March 29 to May 10.

This ambitious exhibition will span the two rooms of the stunning gallery, with each room exploring distinct themes and ideas surrounding the Indigenous Australian experience.

Through the exhibition, Jaz aims to uplift and represent her people from the Yuin and Dharawal communities.

The first room features a sculptural installation titled Isolated Ruins, Middens, which consists of 564 painted abalone shells, each collected from the Aboriginal community.

“The meaning in this work is layered,” Jaz says. “I've used shells to pay my respects to the Aboriginal artists of the South Coast. 

“Shells hold a deep historical significance in our culture, and I’m honouring that legacy while bringing it into the present. I’m asking the audience to consider the number of shells and reflect on how it makes them feel.”

The 564 shells represent the 564 Indigenous deaths in custody, painted black to symbolise the ongoing desecration of Country and the lack of access to clean drinking water in local Aboriginal communities.

“As a society, we often treat deaths in custody as isolated incidents, but the reality is much broader. I'm urging the audience to look deeper and reflect on the meaning of 564 in a room,” Jaz says.

“The abalone shells are painted black because my community, where my aunt and uncle live, can’t drink the water from their taps. This is just 70km away from Kiama, and yet little is said or known about it. It’s always treated as an isolated issue rather than a widespread crisis.”

This piece is further enriched by a poignant inscription on the wall: Not for sale. Pay the rent.

“The community is not for sale. Our culture is not for sale. These issues can't be bought or ignored. It's easy for artists to raise their prices, but I know where I come from. I’m part of a community I won’t leave behind,” says Jaz. 

“With these opportunities, my cultural duty is to ensure I’m not the only Black person in the room - that my mob comes with me.”

In the second room, Jaz presents Land Wounds, The First Iteration, a nuanced piece comprising 450 individual 15x15cm canvases. Each one represents a parcel of land, and between these canvases are six spears created by Uncle Richard Campbell of Gumaraa. These spears commemorate the six Aboriginal people massacred at Minnamurra River in 1818.

The work also incorporates an interactive element: “When an audience member purchases one of the small paintings, it’s immediately replaced with another,” says Jaz.

“The piece starts with a green composition. When one is purchased, it’s replaced with earth ochre, and with the third purchase, it becomes rust. The transformation of the work depends entirely on the audience’s participation, and it evolves throughout the exhibition.

“This is a reflection of the ongoing trauma of land dispossession and the commodification of land. It’s about how we consume land and the way that is reflected through art.”

Each canvas is worth $150, and Jaz admits she won’t make much profit due to the cost of materials, paint and time. “But that’s the point. Land, like art, is not accessible to everyone, and the price of it is a significant barrier,” she says.

The paintings also become a symbol of reclamation. Over 15,000 Indigenous artefacts were destroyed in the Dunmore sandmine and, through this artwork, Jaz hopes to symbolically replace those lost treasures.

“By purchasing a piece, the audience helps to restore what was lost. The art becomes a symbol of reconciliation, acknowledging our collective responsibility toward the land, our mother. This is more than just a lovely painting - it’s an act of activism that invites the audience to participate in,” Jaz explains.

Through her deep passion for her community and her belief in art’s power to express emotion and history, Jaz is telling profound stories that invite reflection, engagement and conversation.