The Nullians by Sharyn Egan 
- Exhibition dates: Friday 1 July to Sunday 14 August 2022
- Opening times: 10am - 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday
- Location: Rockingham Arts Centre, 11 Kent Street, Rockingham
- Cost: Free entry
To celebrate NAIDOC Week 2022 and the official reopening of the newly refurbished Rockingham Arts Centre, we are pleased to host The Nullians, by renowned local Nyoongar artist, Sharyn Egan.
The exhibition will showcase Sharyn’s collection of Nullians; carved pieces made from the balga, or grass tree. These Nullians were originally made in the 1960s and 1970s, and were found and collected by Sharyn from secondhand and antiques stores from all over Nyoongar land.
Sharyn’s exhibition will also showcase The Ancients - The Core of the Balga, plus artworks created by her using both balga resin and paint.
About the artist
Sharyn Egan is a painter, weaver and sculptor. 
As a member of the Stolen Generation who grew up in the New Norcia Mission School, much of her artwork is a commentary on her life as a Nyoongar woman and the associated trauma, emotions and deep sense of loss and displacement experienced by Aboriginal people.
Sharyn began her art career at the age of 37 when she enrolled in a Diploma of Fine Arts at the Claremont School of Art in Perth. She completed this course in 1998 and continued her education at Curtin University, first completing an Associate Degree in Contemporary Aboriginal Art in 2000 and a Bachelor of Arts (Arts) in 2001. She has also been awarded a Certificate IV in Training and Education and has worked as an art lecturer, curator and art facilitator in schools, community groups and health organisations.
Never afraid of experimentation and exploration, she works in numerous media, including painting, sculpture, woven forms and site specific installations, often choosing materials, such as ochres, resins and grasses that have connections to the land, especially her home near the lake system in the southern suburbs of Perth.
Her woven works include traditionally styled contemporary forms and baskets, as well as larger scale sculptural forms.