What comes to mind when you think of Australian art? Maybe Arthur Boyd or the Heidelberg School. Perhaps Albert Namatjira?
Just as Indigenous history has been hidden, misrepresented or denied, so has the art movement within this talented community. Indigenous art has been overlooked or suffered appropriation as dot paintings have appeared on everything from sun hats to stubby holders.
To see authentic and incredible works by indigenous artists over centuries, enjoy the free exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne.
With more than 400 artworks and cultural objects, the exhibition was curated by Professor Marcia Langton AO, Judith Ryan AM, and Shanysa McConville.
When I attended on a gloomy Melbourne winter day, Professor Langton was just conducting a tour for a group of young Indigenous artists. Apart from her intimate knowledge of the exhibition, she detailed the history of the Indigenous art ‘movement’. From bark paintings to sketches on paper to multimedia, and from traditional to contemporary artistic styles, all were represented. Along the way, the ‘incarceration’ art confronts, as do many of the more recent pieces addressing the continued white colonialisation. What a joy to hear indigenous languages being spoken by these visitors as we contemplated the pain and continuing lack of recognition of First Nations people.
The multimedia presentations showcased the talent of mostly young artists, exploring traditional practices, the intersectionality with transgender issues, and the cruel irony of young indigenous students on a mission singing a version of ‘This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land’, back in the 1950s or 60s.
Most confronting is the third floor, where the dark history of the Eugenics movement is displayed, including the part played by the University of Melbourne’s School of Medicine. Young medical students from country areas were encouraged to search for Indigenous skeletons to add to the collection. These remains cannot be accurately returned to Country because their original locations were not recorded.
Beautiful, confronting, and educational, this exhibition is not to be missed.
℘℘℘℘
Kaye Cameron
Art/s and Theology Australia 