Research Background:
McGregor’s cast silver sculpture Cornerstone Project (2011-2018) is a tiny fragment of the British Museum’s edifice as a gesture of resistance by the artist when denied access to material significant to her cultural heritage despite months of repeated requests. In 2011 McGregor visited the British Museum with the intention of seeing their extensive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections. Despite several attempts McGregor was unable to access any of the museum’s Indigenous Australian collections not on public display. The only item of Indigenous Australian origin on display during her visit was the Gweagal shield taken from the warrior Cooman, who was shot in the leg during first contact with Captain Cook’s party at Botany Bay on 29 April 1770. In her frustration, and having resolved to reclaim something back from the museum, McGregor paced along the Museum’s grand south entrance and settled on a small gesture to mark her visit.

Research Contribution: McGregor’s gesture could be seen as an expression of defiance—a lone activist longing for a connection with the monumental building, and the institution itself. Capturing the impression of the corner is a small act of ownership, and a reclamation of the contents within. McGregor’s practice-led aspect research seeks to subvert collections and to insert another voice into Western historical imagination. By using museum collections as opportunities for informing contemporary Indigenous identity by remaking connections, strengthening memories and investigating meaning between objects, history and culture.

Research Significance: Exhibited in Boundary Lines (2018—19) at Griffith University Art Museum, curated by Director Angela Goddard.