These fine exhibitions provide two very different visual experiences, each articulating the same conundrum: How do contemporary Indigenous people fine a sense of place in the present when so much has been taken from them in the past? MacDonald's figurative narratives suggest heritage is carried within the individual, while Reys's formal prints and constructions reference an absence of knowledge about her cultural traditions.

MacDonald offers vertical compositions of rich colour that remind us how the past underpins the present. Like an archaeologist she delves through layers of time to the primary level that reveals symbolic references to the spirit world. Meanwhile the upper layers show trees, symbols of life, sending finger-like roots down through time to hold on to their original nourishment.

Retaining this connection with the past is illustrated by a drover holding a saddle rope that morphs into a spirit snake, and an old man wearing a modern watch while making fire by rubbing sticks together. They seem to fit into their present, unlike the young man of Third Space Between Two who seems confined in a cramped dark space of modern electronics. But his CD's echo the ancient motifs of concentric circles and if he'd only open his eyes he'd see a proud heritage that can carry him forward.

In many images MacDonald uses the motif of a mantelpiece, that colonialist 'domestic alter' where objects of personal importance are displayed. It's an excellent counterpoint to the dilly bag that carries what is treasured by the Indigenous woman in her environment.  Both suggest the 'cultural baggage' we all carry through the generations. These works tell many stories; the wealth of heritage (Gathering Our Culture), different ways of worshiping the creative force (Two Beliefs), a sense of displacement (The New Bride), and the result of cultural dispossession (My Name is Robert). All are well painted with layers of media and meaning that engage the viewer as they read the narrative. Also engaging are the excellent large images that respond to early Australian artists' views of the land and its people. In these MacDonald appropriates their images to illustrate her point of view.

Reys's work is more enigmatic but no less potent. Her digital photography and mixed media exhibits refer to how the lack of information and understanding of her heritage creates difficulty when trying to reconnect with the past, and the feeling of significant loss this engenders. The series Paper Stacks involves small handmade paper squares, each dipped in clay slip (from the land), and neatly piled in groups of stacks behind glass. Paper work, official documentation, is that all that's left of her traditional cultural? If so how does one access it in practice?

Throughout the exhibition Reys employs the circle motif to represent the concept of community and the values held in common by that community. Meanwhile the square references the grid as a rigid mapping device that divides the land and the external controls that coerce the 'circle' to conform. This idea of conflicting values is noted in two series, Healing and Common Treads. Both involve tight wrapping of small flat squares of wood with thin strips of cloth stained in earth colours. The difference between them is the squares of Common Treads are solid while in Healing they are opened by a circle and as such, invite the question: Do the rigid rules of the square confine the circle or are community's values growing and pushing against the rigidity of the square?

This is a well considered exhibition, one that is presented like a single installation as each work connects with and reinforces the single idea of wanting to find, learn and practice a culture that bestows identity and belonging.

Each artists tells her own story in her own artistic style, one emotive the other contemplative. The main thing we learn from these images and concepts is how important knowing about and being proud of your cultural heritage is to providing a sense of place and space to be a whole person.