Reko Rennie's work to be displayed at the new Sydney Fish Market

Phoebe Blogg Published August 12, 2026 at 4.00am (AWST)

arts

First Nations artist Reko Rennie has joined forces with Sydney Fish Market as part of Sydney Contemporary's Installations programme,. (Image: Jo Duck, Courtesy of Ames Yavuz)

Recognised for his niche artworks and creative eye for design, this month First Nations artist Reko Rennie is making headlines with another new and exciting project.

Joining forces with Sydney Contemporary's Installations programme, this year Rennie has assisted in extending the programme beyond Carriageworks, with his work 'ALWAYS' (2026), set to be unveiled at the new Sydney Fish Market.

With Sydney Fish Market , Rennie questions the politics of visibility and brings histories of Aboriginal culture and identity to Sydney Fish Market.

Rennie's project ALWAYS (2026) for Installations also extends his distinctive visual language of geometric patterning and urban iconography.

Drawing on his Kamilaroi/Gamilaroi/Gamilaraay heritage and his background in graffiti, Rennie's work challenges preconceived ideas of Aboriginal art while asserting the visibility and complexity of contemporary urban Aboriginal identity.

Presented at the new Sydney Fish Markets, Rennie's installation creates a highly visible statement about place, identity, visibility and cultural presence in Sydney.

*A close up of Reko Rennie's, Sydney Fish Market Commission, 2026. (Image: Instagram @sydneycontemporary)*

*First Nations artist Reko Rennie. (Image: Jo Duck, Courtesy of Ames Yavuz)*

"My work is about visibility and presence. It brings together the language of the street, my Kamilaroi heritage and the urgency of asserting Aboriginal identity in contemporary urban spaces," said Rennie, whose interdisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, installation, neon, video and public art.

Drawing on graffiti, geometric pattern and Aboriginal iconography, his work explores urban Aboriginal identity, visibility, politics and cultural sovereignty.

Rennie has had several successful projects and pieces of work which have seen him recognised, both locally and nationally.

*Director at Ames Yavuz, Dominic Kavanagh. (Image: firstdraft.org.au)*

Speaking on Rennie's talented eye for curating, director at Ames Yavuz, Dominic Kavanagh, said Rennie's work is both immediately recognisable and deeply political.

"Reko Rennie's work is immediately recognisable and deeply political, " Kavanagh said.

"His public art installations bring the power of Aboriginal visual languages to the fore, asserting contemporary First Nations identity through scale, colour, pattern and cultural confidence."

ALWAYS (2026) by Reko Rennie will be unveiled on the 27th of August and on view until the 14th of September.

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