Peter Sharrock was born in Adelaide in 1972. His father’s heritage is Welsh/English and his mother is from the Arrente people of the Northern Territory. Sharrock states that he has been “making art and art objects since I was a toddler, as I was born with enlarged tonsils, which meant I couldn’t really talk until I was three/four years old (when they were removed). So my first language was not a spoken language but more a visual language” (pers. comm. 2009). As he was the seventh of seven children Sharrock received plenty of hand-me-down toys and began constructing new toys out of the old broken ones.
Sharrock’s Aboriginal heritage was not revealed to him until he was in his teens and because of this his work does not reflect any Dreaming stories, rather he see’s himself as an “urban artist creating contemporary Indigenous art reflecting Indigenous views” (pers. comm. 2009). He works in four main styles; collage – using ochre and ink stained paper; sculpture – employing the use of carved raw ochre pigment (a technique that Sharrock spent ten years developing and refining); public art – using mostly naturally occurring materials; and a fourth style Sharrock calls 'honeycomb’, a style that developed from his piece Walk the Line, an installation for the 'Our Metro Mob’ 2007 exhibition at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide. This style comprises three drawings that create one image: a line drawing on yellow ochre is followed by paper with negative space drawings cut into it, then a shadow line work which interacts with the first two drawings, giving the whole work a “life and presence and depending on the viewing perspective the shadows/shapes move and change character” (pers. comm. 2009).
His work is informed by his contemporary urban life as well as his connection to land and expressions of identity. Sometimes his work is inspired by personal events such as the passing of his mother and the dreams he experienced of her on the eve of her death, explored in the ochre sculpture Remembered.
Sharrock’s first tertiary educational experience was not in the arts. In 1997 he was awarded a Certificate of Competency in Carpentry and Joinery from Elizabeth College of Technical and Further Education. He did not enroll in formal arts training until 1997, graduating in 2000 with a Certificate II in Art Foundation Studies followed by a Certificate IV in Applied and Visual Art from Salisbury TAFE. In 2005 he completed a Bachelor of Visual Art and Design at the Adelaide Institute of Arts at the Roma Mitchell Centre in Light Square, Adelaide.
Sharrock began exhibiting in 1998 when he participated in the student group show 'H20 Water’ at Salisbury TAFE. He also participated in the 2005 show 'Petroglyphs’ at Tandanya, which then toured in 2006 to the Dreaming Festival in Woodford, Queensland. In 2006 Sharrock travelled to Wales to work alongside fellow sculptors Muriel Van Der Byl and Chrissy Houston on a public art project known as 'Journey Through Cultures’ to create the public artwork 'Mound at Clegyr Boia’ in southwest Wales. In 2006 and 2008 Sharrock was included in 'Small Graphics International Biennial’ in Romania. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 he participated in 'Our Metro Mob’ at Tandanya. This exhibition is the city-dwelling artists’ companion exhibition to 'Our Mob’, an exhibition held at the Adelaide Festival Centre each year in which artists from regional and remote South Australia showcase their latest works.
In 2009 Sharrock submitted work for display in Tandanya’s 20th anniversary celebration exhibition 'Making Tracks’.
Sharrock’s first solo exhibition, 'together’, was held in the foyer of Wakefield House in Adelaide and his second solo in 2008 was titled 'Belong’ and was exhibited in Rundle Street, Adelaide. His third solo exhibition, 'Shown’, was staged at the Adelaide Indigenous Business Centre in 2009 with the Lord Mayor of Adelaide attending the opening.
In 2009 Sharrock submitted a honeycomb style work titled The Story Unfolds into the 26th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin. He was shortlisted as a finalist.
Sharrock supplements his art income by working as an installation technician for various Adelaide-based organisations. He also runs art workshops for various schools and organisations and has presented workshops in conjunction with Anangu-ku Arts and Country Arts in Coober Pedy.
- Writers:
- Allas, Tess
- Date written:
- 2009
- Last updated:
- 2011
