Izabela Pluta / Cavitation
Izabela Pluta’s exhibition Cavitation evolved as a co-commission between Australian and Polish institutions, allowing Pluta to create an expansive display of her personal migratory experience. From photography to collaborative tapestry to sensory installations, Cavitation invites the viewer to feel, hear and share a biographical account of Pluta’s childhood. Pluta’s interaction with natural cartography and interplanetary geography questions how we understand sovereignty, ownership and physical belonging; a unification of science, art and identity. During Newcastle’s New Annual 2026 festival (25 September to 4 October), Cavitation extends beyond the gallery through Cavitation: Breathing Ocean, a temporary interactive floating installation at the Newcastle Canoe Pool. As well as the exhibition, The Lock-Up is hosting a variety of collaborative activities from Spotlight Talks to Making Sessions, welcoming an audience to have deeper interaction with Pluta’s research and ideology. Cavitation runs from September 25 to January 31.
Image credit: Izabela Pluta, Aftercasts (detail), 2026, assemblage comprising glass, marble, bronze, webbing, marine floats. Courtesy the artist and Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert
