Artist Insider: Teresa Margolles

Interviews NAS Connect News

Artist Insider: Teresa Margolles

by Danielle Neely

As part of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, NIRIN, artist Teresa Margolles from Mexico came to the National Art School to create an original installation in the NAS Gallery.

Her work for NIRIN, Approximation to The Scene of The Facts, references places in Sydney where women have been murdered or disappeared. Teresa and a group of volunteers performed a ritual sponging of water to collect particles at each site.

The installation’s perimeter of red industrial curtains created an interior space containing 20 hot iron plates. As drops of water collected from the crime scenes fell on the plates, they evaporated on contact with a hiss.

Due to Coronavirus and the regulations for the National Art School as a tertiary institution, the NAS Gallery remains closed to the public. Teresa’s installation, and other Biennale artworks first exhibited at NAS in March, have been transferred to Carriageworks, where they can be seen from 7 August to 26 September, 2020.

Watch the full interview linked below.

Image: Teresa Margolles, Approximation to The Scene of The Facts, 2020, mixed-media installation. Installation view (2020) for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, National Art School. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich. Photograph: Peter Morgan

Last Thursday, we celebrated Maryanne Coutts, Lynda Draper and Amanda Woollard (in absentia) as this year`s recipients of the Award for Distinguished Service.

We share a heartfelt thank you to Maryanne, Lynda, and Amanda for their contribution to our School and students.

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May 30

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Last Thursday, we celebrated Maryanne Coutts, Lynda Draper and Amanda Woollard (in absentia) as this year's recipients of the Award for Distinguished Service.

We share a heartfelt thank you to Maryanne, Lynda, and Amanda for their contribution to our School and students.

We`re excited to share that NAS Photomedia sessional Dr Jack Ball (@jack__ball_) is the winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2025, the nation’s most generous prize for Australian artists under forty.

Jack`s award winning work `Heavy Grit` is on display in the Ramsay Art Prize 2025 exhibition which opens tomorrow, Saturday 31 May

Jack Ball with `Heavy Grit` in Ramsay Art Prize 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, (@agsa.adelaide) Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

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May 30

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We're excited to share that NAS Photomedia sessional Dr Jack Ball (@jack__ball_) is the winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2025, the nation’s most generous prize for Australian artists under forty.

Jack's award winning work 'Heavy Grit' is on display in the Ramsay Art Prize 2025 exhibition which opens tomorrow, Saturday 31 May

Jack Ball with 'Heavy Grit' in Ramsay Art Prize 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, (@agsa.adelaide) Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

Thank you to outgoing Chair Susan Rothwell AM & welcome to incoming Chair Jeff Weeden. The National Art School would like to express its deepest gratitude to Susan Rothwell AM, whose term as Chair of the NAS Board concludes on 31 May 2025.

At the same time, we are pleased to announce and warmly welcome Jeff Weeden as the incoming Chair of the NAS Board, effective 1 June 2025.

Jeff has served as a Director on the NAS Board since 2019 and currently chairs the Finance and Audit Committee, a position he has held since 2023. For the full announcement, click the link in the bio.

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May 29

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Thank you to outgoing Chair Susan Rothwell AM & welcome to incoming Chair Jeff Weeden. The National Art School would like to express its deepest gratitude to Susan Rothwell AM, whose term as Chair of the NAS Board concludes on 31 May 2025.

At the same time, we are pleased to announce and warmly welcome Jeff Weeden as the incoming Chair of the NAS Board, effective 1 June 2025.

Jeff has served as a Director on the NAS Board since 2019 and currently chairs the Finance and Audit Committee, a position he has held since 2023. For the full announcement, click the link in the bio.

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starts today! As part of our NAS NRW program, we invite you to a special screening of the documentary `Kindred` (2023) in our Cell Block Theatre. The directors Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills will be joining us for the screening.

`There`s the black world, and then there`s the white world. I felt walking in each of them was complicated enough. To bring those together would just make it even harder.` (Kindred: Trailer)

`Kindred` is a deeply personal feature-length documentary that delves into the emotional landscape of family, love, and loss through the eyes of two close friends.`

Limited capacity - click the link in bio to reserve your seats.

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May 27

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National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starts today! As part of our NAS NRW program, we invite you to a special screening of the documentary 'Kindred' (2023) in our Cell Block Theatre. The directors Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills will be joining us for the screening.

'There's the black world, and then there's the white world. I felt walking in each of them was complicated enough. To bring those together would just make it even harder.' (Kindred: Trailer)

'Kindred' is a deeply personal feature-length documentary that delves into the emotional landscape of family, love, and loss through the eyes of two close friends.'

Limited capacity - click the link in bio to reserve your seats.

Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Daniel McClellan, Jasmine Mowbray, Erin Murphy, Gemma Smith, Nicola Smith and Michael Snape, finalists of the Sulman Prize 2025.
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Daniel McClellan, ‘Jupiter’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 169.9 x 110.4 cm; Jasmine Mowbray, ‘Under an ancient tortoiseshell sky’, 2025, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 150.2 x 120 cm; Gemma Smith, ‘Windward’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint, linen and canvas on linen, 230.2 x 199.5 cm; Nicola Smith, ‘The beginning of spring’, 2025, oil on linen, 85.4 x 80.2 cm; Michael Snape, ‘Painting with fluid subject’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 91.7 x 92 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists

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May 26

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Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Daniel McClellan, Jasmine Mowbray, Erin Murphy, Gemma Smith, Nicola Smith and Michael Snape, finalists of the Sulman Prize 2025.
—
Daniel McClellan, ‘Jupiter’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 169.9 x 110.4 cm; Jasmine Mowbray, ‘Under an ancient tortoiseshell sky’, 2025, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 150.2 x 120 cm; Gemma Smith, ‘Windward’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint, linen and canvas on linen, 230.2 x 199.5 cm; Nicola Smith, ‘The beginning of spring’, 2025, oil on linen, 85.4 x 80.2 cm; Michael Snape, ‘Painting with fluid subject’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 91.7 x 92 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists

Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Mitch Cairns, Nick Collerson, Sarah Contos, Brodie Cullen, Daniel Hollier and Ildiko Kovacs, finalists of the Sulman Prize 2025.
—
Mitch Cairns, ‘Narrow cast (studio mural)’, 2025, vinyl on primed linen, 91.9 x 76.4 cm; Nick Collerson, ‘Interpretation of remembrance’, 2025, oil on linen, 137.5 x 152.5 cm; Sarah Contos, ‘Hypnagogia zeitgeist’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on cotton, screenprint on canvas, tufted Australian wool on cotton monk`s cloth, 184.2 x 169.7 cm; Brodie Cullen, Untitled (mattress painting)’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on found mattress, 200.2 x 155 cm; Daniel Hollier, ‘Summer rains in dragon veins’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on polyester, 90 x 100 cm; Ildiko Kovacs, ‘Tracing light’, 2025, oil and oil stick on plywood, 240 x 180 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists

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May 26

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Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Mitch Cairns, Nick Collerson, Sarah Contos, Brodie Cullen, Daniel Hollier and Ildiko Kovacs, finalists of the Sulman Prize 2025.
—
Mitch Cairns, ‘Narrow cast (studio mural)’, 2025, vinyl on primed linen, 91.9 x 76.4 cm; Nick Collerson, ‘Interpretation of remembrance’, 2025, oil on linen, 137.5 x 152.5 cm; Sarah Contos, ‘Hypnagogia zeitgeist’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on cotton, screenprint on canvas, tufted Australian wool on cotton monk's cloth, 184.2 x 169.7 cm; Brodie Cullen, Untitled (mattress painting)’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on found mattress, 200.2 x 155 cm; Daniel Hollier, ‘Summer rains in dragon veins’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on polyester, 90 x 100 cm; Ildiko Kovacs, ‘Tracing light’, 2025, oil and oil stick on plywood, 240 x 180 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists