Dale Harding’s latest exhibition has taken him on a journey from the wilderness of Carnarvon Gorge to the dizzying heights of the contemporary art scene in Europe.
The Queensland College of Art doctoral candidate is back home after exhibiting in Athens and Kassel as part of Documenta 14 – dubbed the ‘art Olympics’.
Dale was born in the Central Queensland town of Moranbah and is a descendant of the Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal people.
For Documenta, Dale spent 18 months cataloguing Carnvarvon’s famed rock art, reinterpreting certain motifs using modern materials like silicon and gold leaf.
“I spent a lot of time out at Carnarvon growing up, and I still go out there at least five or six times a year,” he says.
“I feel a connection to the country and a sense of responsibility.
“I was passionate about interacting with the history, of taking the art and seeing how I could use it to tell my