14/05/2026
30 YEARS, 30 ARTWORKS
During 2026, we're sharing stories and standout pieces from the Art Collection to celebrate 30 years of UniSC.
This pair of gold leaf folding screens is the oldest artwork in our collection, dating back to 18th-century Japan. The screens were created by Ōoka Shunboku, a master of the prestigious Kano school, Japan's longest-running and most influential painting tradition, favoured by emperors, shoguns, and nobility alike. Shunboku's skill earned him the title of Hōgen, one of the highest honours the Japanese Imperial Court could bestow upon an artist.
The screens depict a family of monkeys at play among the trees. In Japanese culture, monkeys represent luck, fate, and long life, appearing everywhere from ancient folktales to divine mythology.
In Japan, folding screens serve both as furniture and as decoration. Screens divide large open spaces into intimate private areas, often for dressing or sleeping. Beyond its beauty, the gold leaf isn't just decorative; it reflects light to cast a warm, ambient glow, making these screens both breathtaking and functional.
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Ōoka Shunboku
1680–1763, Japan
Monkeys
1715, Edo (Tokugawa) period (1615–1868)
pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, pigment and gold leaf on paper
University of the Sunshine Coast Art Collection
Arija and Richard Austin Bequest, 2015
UniSC 1225
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2-5: Carl Warner
6: Installation view of An Acquisitive Instinct at UniSC Art Gallery 2022. Photo: Carl Warner
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australia
