Taking its title from the aviation term Ceiling And Visibility OK, used to describe ideal flying conditions, CAVOK continues Kyle Montgomery's exploration of spirituality, materiality and transformation. Inspired by moments of perfect clarity, the exhibition considers the beauty found within organic growth, imperfection and the continual processes of change.

Working across sculpture, Montgomery creates works that balance intuition with careful construction. Colour, texture and mineral forms evoke atmosphere rather than representation, allowing each work to remain open to interpretation.

"Colours are about getting back into Australian nature and ecosystems, sunsets, perfect conditions. CAVOK is pilot terminology for a perfect day to fly so those are the days that inspire me. I don't think there are any ideas or understandings to attach. I like that it's whatever the viewer takes from it. That's what I love.".

Rather than offering a singular narrative, CAVOK invites personal reflection. Viewers are encouraged to bring their own experiences, beliefs and emotions to the work.

"If spiritual emotions come up, that's a plus but whatever people feel, need or like from the works is what matters."

Like the conditions described by its title, CAVOK offers a space of openness, where meaning is discovered through experience rather than explanation.

Devotion is an ongoing series by Sly Morikawa documenting Sanja Matsuri, the annual Shinto festival held in Tokyo’s Asakusa district. First published as a photobook with Friend Editions (Jp) in 2024, the project captured the presence of yakuza families within the festival.

While the yakuza remain central to this new body of work, the series expands its focus to the rhythms and atmosphere of Sanja Matsuri itself: moments of anticipation and exhaustion, collective ritual, celebration, and quiet reflection.

Sly Morikawa is an artist and photographer whose sensitive, dreamlike photographs capture the intuitive interplay between intimacy and desire. Morikawa explores the dualities of the human experience—light and dark, calm and chaos, beauty and tension—by drawing on recurring themes of sex, subculture, and self. Through her depictions of the angelic and the unorthodox, she invites viewers to reflect on their own agency, whilst presenting a world in which one can suspend biases and taboos.

In 1969, vanguard photojournalist Martha Cooper was living in Japan while interning with National Geographic magazine. It was there the young Cooper first encountered 入れ墨 (irezumi, Japanese traditional tattoos) which she captured with both a sense of reverent beauty and anthropological fascination. Eventually compiled and published in 2011's Tokyo Tattoo 1970 these photographs pre-date Cooper's formative time at the New York Post and the legendary Subway Art, and straddle an uncomfortable line between editorial storytelling and pure-hearted artistry. Martha Cooper soon became ubiquitous as an individual representing the protean relationship between an artist and their apparatus, and stands as a key figure informing the work of Sly Morikawa, whose irezumi photography exhibited together in Long Distance Relationship (2024) at Komiyama Tokyo G, Japan.

'To be able to see something that beautiful amongst brokenness takes a very keen eye'

An uncredited individual makes this claim about Cooper in the 2019 documentary Martha: A Picture Story but is equally applicable to Sly Morikawa's approach to photography. Brokenness in relation to Cooper often refers to her work in the urban decay of 1970s Bronx and Sowebo between 2006–16, while Morikawa has long captured her reading of beauty among the underbelly of society. Rather than glorifying criminality or fetishising exploitation, Morikawa honours her subjects with dignifying respect. Her photography mystifies our reading as candid or choreographed; the people, places and moments composed within her viewfinder present themselves within fleetingly perfect moments of circumstance.

For Devotion, Sly Morikawa's debut solo presentation at China Heights, the artist returns to Asakusa, Toyko for 三社祭 (Sanja Matsuri), an annual Shinto festival renowned by locals for it's rowdy nature and culture tourists for a glimpse at the elusive members of the yakuza. Held on the third weekend of May, the streets around Sensō-ji and Asakusa-jinja are flooded with domestic and international tourists, enjoying the revelry of packed food stalls and parades of 神輿 (mikoshi, portable shrines). Yakuza involvement in this ancient matsuri began in the 1950s during a period of decline in the Asakusa area, when mikoshi enthusiast clubs volunteered to assist in the parade, many of them syndicate members. Their continued participation fostered a culture of temporary acceptance and visibility during this festival, with it being labelled outside Japan as an unofficial "Yakuza Festival." A photojournalistic approach to the criminal participants of this matsuri may tell us who each person is and why they are in this situation – character studies on the 親分 (oyabun, boss/father figure) or 兄弟 (kyodai/brother figure) and their intersecting roles between business and spiritual operations. It is easy to imagine the outcome of such a narrativised framework. You could even picture a sensationalised headline proclaiming the so-called community service of criminal organisations. Wow – what a scoop!

Needless to say, this is not the method in which Sly Morikawa operates. For the artist, Sanja Matsuri is a beautiful coalescence of many long-held interests. When photographing people participating in the act of creating community, Morikawa possesses an elegance in developing intimacy and access developed through respect and reciprocity. The grace in which she navigates inter- and extra-personal relationships is evident in the quality of her photography (technical expertise aside). Morikawa has integrated her film camera into her singular way of seeing (and understanding) the world creates an atmosphere of calm acceptance in which respect is not dutiful but courteous. In disarming her subjects of prejudice about The Photographer as a tool for editorialism, the artist is allowed to capture extraordinary scenes which, in turn, challenge audiences of their internalised prejudices of social and cultural phenomena.

That such a generous artistic practice results in photos of overwhelming visual interest and ballerina-like grace is testament to Sly Morikawa's unique methodology. Once more, as Morikawa offers us a glimpse at the complex rawness of life filtered with devotional care, one more we are granted the opportunity to exist in a rare reality in which the subtle rhythms of rituals great and small become visible. Martha was in the yards with Dondi, Sly was smoking cigarettes with the yakuza.

Words by Con Gerakaris

An exhibition bringing together paintings by artists from Iwantja Arts, Jilamara Arts & Crafts Association, Munupi Arts & Crafts Association, Papunya Tjupi Arts, Papunya Tula Artists and Warakurna Artists. Spanning the deserts of Central Australia to the Tiwi Islands, the exhibition presents a survey of First Nations painting through the distinct practices of some of Australia's leading Aboriginal-owned art centres.

The Art Centres:

Iwantja Arts (APY Lands, SA)
Located in the APY Lands and established in the early 1980s, Iwantja supports over 40 Yankunytjatjara artists through painting, experimental media, and collaborative film projects like NEVER STOP RIDING. Featured artists Rosalind Tjanyari and Sallyanne Roberts exemplify the centre's innovative cultural strength, translating ancient Tjukurpa into bold contemporary works that celebrate Anangu artistic excellence.

Jilamara Arts and Crafts (Milikapiti, Tiwi Islands)
Based in Milikapiti on Melville Island, Jilamara translates ceremonial ochre body markings ("Jilamara") onto canvas, silk, and digital media. As the cultural hub of the Tiwi community, it supports around 60 artists whose works are held in major collections worldwide. Featured artist Jacinta Lorenzo carries this dynamic tradition forward, reimagining sacred clan totems and Tiwi creation stories with a vibrant contemporary palette.

Munupi Arts & Crafts Association (Tiwi Islands)
Formed in 1990 at Pirlangimpi on Melville Island, Munupi is the youngest Tiwi Islands art centre, providing vital space for cultural pride, employment, and artistic expression through ochre painting. This exhibition showcases six exceptional Munupi artists: Andre (Andrea) Tipungwuti, Christine Puruntatameri, Declan Apuatimi, Josephine Burak, Thecla (Bernadette) Puruntatameri, and Theresa Burak. Their ochre canvases vividly depict Kulama ceremonies, Tutini (ceremonial carvings), and seasonal Tiwi narratives.

Papunya Tjupi Arts (Alice Springs, NT)
Based in Papunya, the birthplace of the Western Desert movement, Papunya Tjupi (est. 2007) supports 150 artists carrying on their forefathers' legacy through strong line‑work and evolving storytelling. The centre keeps culture strong through intergenerational teaching of knowledge. Featured artist Keanu Nelson Tjakamarra represents this new generation, powerfully connecting ancestral narratives to the distinctive Papunya style.

Papunya Tula Artists (Western Desert, NT/WA)
Originating from Geoffrey Bardon's 1971 school‑mural project, Papunya Tula is the historic foundation of the Western Desert art movement. Now representing around 120 Pintupi and Luritja artists, it remains wholly Indigenous‑owned. Featured artists Kathleen Nampitjinpa and Melissa Nungurrayi continue this profound legacy, producing works of deep cultural significance that define the movement's enduring brilliance.

Warakurna Artists (Ngaanyatjarra Lands, WA)
Established in 2005 in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia, Warakurna Artists is an energetic community enterprise preserving local Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) through expressive contemporary painting. Beyond the studio, it facilitates trips on Country and supports local employment. Featured artist Elaine Lane embodies the centre's distinctive Western Desert style, channelling deep Ngaanyatjarra cultural heritage and traditional narratives onto canvas.