The Cross Art Projects. Artist Exhibition.

The Cross Art Projects foregrounds contemporary work and curatorial projects that reflect the multiple relationships between art, life and the public sphere, and explores the boundaries of this context. We are attentive to the local without sacrificing the scope of Indigenous and international views. Cross Art enhances its projects with conversations, walks and events on contemporary art, urban planning, architecture and heritage.

Acknowledgement
We are on Gadigal Land where Sovereignty has never been ceded. Australia always was and always will be, Aboriginal land. We work towards an inclusive culture and society where everyone can enjoy equal rights.

Address
Gadigal Country
8 Llankelly Place,
Kings Cross, Sydney 2011
Australia

Opening Hours
11am to 5pm Thursday to Saturday
(Saturday close at 4pm)
Closed public holidays.

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Taripang / Dharripa / Trepang: REMIX

Opening Saturday 7 June, 2 pm
With opening talk by Petrit Abazi (Director, NCCA)

Book Launch + Finissage Saturday 12 July, 2 pm
In the company of Dr Nur Shkembi (Artistic Director, Islamic Arts Museum Project, Sydney) and curator Petrit Abazi (further guests TBA)

Exhibition runs 7 June to 12 July 2025
The Cross Art Projects
In proud collaboration with the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art (NCCA), Darwin
Curated by Petrit Abazi
With thanks to the Batchelor Institute Art Collection

Taripang / Dharripa / Trepang: REMIX contributes to a broader truth-telling of Australia’s rich pre-colonial history and its northern trade routes, used to harvest the lucrative commodity of Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers)—a class of animals widely known in Australia’s north and the Indonesian archipelago as dharripa, trepang or taripang—which are found in abundance in the shallow sea-beds of the region.

The trepang trade route brought together the Makassans—a broad and multi-cultural group of Indonesian seafarers—and Australian First Nations peoples from the north. One ocean current took fleets to Arnhem Land and the Gulf of Carpentaria and another brought others to Australia’s western shores and the Kimberley region. In these lands and waters occupied by Aboriginal nations, the two groups entered into a series of reciprocal negotiations for the right to collect and process trepang, a relationship that spanned several centuries.

Taripang / Dharripa / Trepang premiered at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art (NCCA) in Garramilla / Darwin in 2024. This remixed version brings this remarkable exhibition to Sydney to continue sharing the essential history of the trepang and ensure its contemporary resonance.

The Cross Art Projects. Artist Exhibition.

Bulthirrirri Wunungmurra, Rupa, 2022, ochre on board, 61 x 51 cm #8129-22