Doll heads suspended in gelatine, computer interface graphics emerging in a black lit room, enormous cardboard structures adorned by plastic toys and the delicate imprint of flora in glass – these four extremely diverse exhibitions are currently on show at the Yarra Sculpture Gallery.

Leonie Ryan’s Disturbed Habitats is a series of drawings and sculptures which look at the suspension and release of childhood memories. Somewhat creepy objects emerge out of semi-opaque yellow gelatin. In this new context the objects take on new meanings; we understand them not as just objects of nostalgia, but also as objects of morbidity, materiality and connection.

The idea is engaging, however, it’s possible that the use of objects such as this can operate on a fairly surface or shallow level. This certainly isn’t the first time I’ve seen the use objects such as dolls heads and toys to represent childhood in an attempt to subvert our understanding. This connection is obvious and unfortunately the show didn’t delve much deeper than simplistic parallels and transformations.

In Kate Geck’s Soft Tomb #1, fluorescent yellow and pink cardboard glasses are provided to the audience to wear. Donning the glasses, you find yourself suddenly immersed in a kaleidoscopic view of the gallery. Strange yet oddly familiar imagery and sculptural installation takes over the dark space which is lit by a black light and the light from a flickering projection. The show takes digital iconography of the recent past and re-contexualises it to expand upon its nostalgic and time-anchored properties. The show uses irony and humour in an idiosyncratic way to delve into the new aesthetics of digital interfaces in order to present them in a bright and bizarre way.

The remnants of 24hr Sculpture People dominate the large main space of the gallery. Over the period of 24 hours participants were invited to construct and engage with the process of sculpture-making within the space. What is left is what you see now, a crazy mixture of found objects assembled to create a sense of chaos and the absurd. Having not been at the marathon sculpture event, what I saw was the residue of a performance, the object component of an ephemeral event. There wasn’t all that much to be made of the chaos in this room other than the understanding that I had probably missed the most important part. An incongruous clash of founding objects combined to create no more than the sum of its parts. However, event-based and ephemeral on-site collaboration is an engaging idea and I’m annoyed I wasn’t there to witness at least some of this marathon event.

Found corrugated iron and the details of Australian flora acted as the departure point for collaborative duo Kerry Strauss and Liz Walker in their show Fusion. A mixture of glass, iron and a play of light combines to create works not unlike the practice of Rosalie Gasgcoine. The works were a beautiful play on the use of a complex material, and underpinned the nature of the very mediums used. The pieces are simple gestures which were perhaps overshadowed by the chaos of the room next door, but were interesting and contemplative in their own way.

Yarra Sculpture Gallery is afforded a large multi-dimensional space to show diverse works. Unfortunately there were aspects of these shows that really didn’t expand upon their own conceptual framework to reach the desired potentiality, and so fell flat.

These new works by four artists will be shown at the Yarra Sculpture Gallery until 13 October. Entry is free.

So Fukin Native is an interesting group show, with its heart in the right place, that slightly misses the mark as it unpacks what we understand to be ‘native’ and ‘authentic’ and the oppressive nature of this body of thought. Its curatorial impetus is to look at and understand the complex positioning of indigenous identity in a contemporary context, and what it means to be native, be that good or bad.

Blak Dot Gallery in Brunswick is a space dedicated to showing the work of contemporary indigenous artists from around the world. It’s been open for a year, and has a continual rotation of mixed media and interdisciplinary shows. It’s absolutely a breath of fresh air to see an Indigenous gallery that is legitimately contemporary, rather than other more common (and more problematic) galleries which show work that is culturally coded as ‘authentic’, which runs the risk of perpetuating an oppressive framework of exoticism and mythology.

Torika Bolatagici presented two videos, which were delicate and idiosyncratic looks at individual and collective identity. A Girl Like You shows the hands of the artist flipping through and blacking out various words from her newly rediscovered teen diaries. The eye skims across the barely legible pages to try to pull together an understanding of this revision of historical documents. Close by, you’ll find another video by the same artist, this time examining at the appropriation and re-contextualisation of Indigenous motifs in contemporary fashion. The artist states that this she is ‘attracted and repelled’ by this process. The video is an equally idiosyncratic and interesting look at quite a polemic topic.

There were two videos projected in the back section of the gallery which, unfortunately, could barely be seen. This area, a lovely light filled space, was the wrong context for projections which rely on a dark environment. Unless this was potentially a critique of context, failure, transparency or something tangible, these unfortunately failed as the videos were just washed-out, barely visible abstract shapes flitting across the screen.

Other works looked at notions relating to indigenous identity in divergent ways. Unfortunately, many of them seemed only to skim the surface of what is a deeply complex and loaded subject. One video looked at cultural artefacts that represent white Australian and Indigenous Australian identity, but the overdone use of Vegemite and the Australian flag bikini has lost its potency, and so instead appeared as reductive.

There were some other quite interesting large-scale photographs, however, the presentation of these pieces left a little to be desired.

Blak Dot Gallery is a great and very important space. The fact that this is one of the only legitimately contemporary galleries dedicated to showing the exciting work of Indigenous artists is quite scary, so it is important that this space grows and maintains a high standard of work. Unfortunately, this show didn’t quite do it for me, but I would recommend people get on board with this gallery as it is guaranteed to be doing some exciting things in the future.

Exhibiting artists at So Fuking Native are: Torika Bolatagici, Laktai Taumoepeau and Kathy Cogill, Candice Perese, Chantal Fraser and Chuck Feesago, Ben McKeown, Greg Semu and Maree Clarke.

So Fukin Native shows until 13 October at Blak Dot Gallery. Entry is free.