GINA
15 May - 18 July
Exhibition launch: Saturday 15 May 2021, 2-4pm
Gina Sinozich was born in Senovik, Istria (Croatia) 1930, secretly migrated to Australia in 1957 and moved into her home in Casula, Australia in 2000 where she lived until her death in 2020.
Gina first started painting when she was 70 years old and was a prolific painter, painting nearly every day for almost 20 years. Initially painting on found materials, the self-taught artist documented her personal experiences and world events that impacted on her personally.
Many of the experiences Gina documented were traumatic – the atrocities of World War II, fleeing to a new land and not being able to tell her family, a terrifying childbirth, her husband Eugen’s dementia and global issues she watched through the news such as the Iraqi war and environmental losses. However, joy and optimism can also be found in her work –her deep religious beliefs, her gardens, Australian flora and fauna, pop culture icons and especially her own family.
GINA is an exhibition that brings together works from Gina’s artistic career to tell her personal story. This is the story of a woman who used art as a way to cope and overcome the difficult experiences of her life but also to capture all of the beauty, love and joy that filled her life.
GINA is an exhibition that has been in development for a number of years prior to the artist’s death in 2020. Gina was a great storyteller and gave a number of interviews over the years, this exhibition draws from these interviews to allow Gina's own words to add to the exhibition narrative. Casula Powerhouse also extends our thanks and gratitude to Gina’s children for filling in gaps and helping ensure that the exhibition that Gina planned has been brought to fruition.
Gina’s work is held in major and private collections around the world including National Gallery Australia, ACT; Australian Maritime Museum, NSW; The Australian War Memorial, ACT; Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, Rijeka, Croatia and an extensive collection held by Liverpool Council at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre.
Click here to read the exhibition catalogue
Click here to read the education kit
Image: Gina Sinozich, Me, 2006. Oil on board. Courtesy of the estate of Gina Sinozich.
Take a virtual tour of the GINA exhibition.
Publications for sale
Istria and its WWI Partizans – Words and Paintings of Gina Sinozich is a 124 page, full colour illustrative insight into Gina’s amazing life and her passion for painting. It features in particular her memories of Istria before the war, the atrocities of WWII and her husband’s incredible story as one of the first Partizans. Gina and her children worked together to create this unique and beautiful book. It was published independently.
Purchase here
There are also full colour catalogues from past exhibitions available for sale. Each focus on important works that Gina made during her life along with artists interviews and/or curatorial texts that shed light on Gina’s art practice.
They are (click on the links to purchase);
The Iraqi War
Gina Sinozich: Living with Dementia;
Gina Sinozch: Istria 1943 – 1945
Gina Sinozich: Liverpool Hospital 1961.
Exhibition Launch - GINA and Kerry Toomey - Munduhii
Date: Saturday, 15 May 2021
Time: 2-4pm
Tickets: FREE
Age suitability: All ages
Please join us for the exhibition launch of GINA, an exhibition that brings together works from Gina Sinozich’s artistic career to tell her personal story.
On the same day, we will be launching Kerry Toomey - Munduhii, the inaugural Casula Powerhouse Aboriginal Scholarship Award. The inaugural prize was sponsored by Dharug Strategic Management Group, an anonymous sponsor and the exhibition support is provided by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre.
EXHIBITION CAFE - HOME
29 May 2021
12 June 2021
26 June 2021
Saturdays, 10 - 11:30am
$15 per session OR $60 for 4 weeks
Suitable for ages 18+
The Exhibition Café is about opening the conversation on diverse topics relating to the exhibitions at Casula Powerhouse Art Centre. It is an opportunity to have informal discussions with a range of professionals, including artists. The Exhibition Café is open to, and respectful of, people of all communities and belief systems.
It will run fortnightly for 4 sessions. This program will align with ideas and themes from - George Gittoes: on being there, Loss and GINA.
SPEAKERS:
29 May - Dr. Michael J. Sinosich (son of Gina Sinozich)
12 June - Noel Zihabamwe (human rights advocate)