From General Assembly 2008 by Fiona Jack
General Assembly at Mary Newton


Fiona Jack's exhibition, General Assembly, opened at Mary Newton Gallery on Monday 11 August. Jack presents the UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights to highlight it’s signing in 2007 and the lack of publicity it received here.

New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the USA all voted against this Declaration of Rights in 2007 – the only four countries that did. Jack presents the aspirational perambular paragraphs to the Declaration as a series of paintings – each a small and detailed facsimile of sections that were written out by members of the public. She invites visitors to the show to write out the articles to the Declaration. “Writing out an article of the Declaration is a curious experience” said co-director Mary-Jane Duffy. “You read the Declaration to choose one, and then you write it out. What seems like a potentially banal experience is usefully engaging. And your text – your handwriting etc – contributes to the visual experience of the exhibition.”


General Assembly runs from 11 August – 6 September 2008.


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