Final Summary

I feel as though throughout this course I've learnt a lot about how vast and expanding the Australian Aboriginal culture still is today. Before I started this, seeing as I'd live overseas for most of my life, I had little idea as to how strongly the culture was still active today and how it's still growing. 

My naive thoughts of dot paintings being the extent to which Indigenous art has gotten is thankfully lost and forgotten, replaced with Indigenous photography, art, music and film. It really has been an important few lessons I've learnt throughout this semester. 

Indigenous Culture in Sports

I've always been well aware of the Haka performed by the New Zealand Rugby team before their games to intimidate their opponents. Whilst looking through some of those videos I came across a few for the Australian Indigenous NRL team and found them to be so interesting. The way the man spoke of the elders was so different from the speeches normally given on sports ground and spoke yards for the culture both here and in New Zealand and how they've managed to keep hold of their roots and traditions. 

Prior to Melbourne Storm's Anzac Day clash against the New Zealand Warriors at AAMI Park, Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Bill performed a Welcome to Country, followed by a traditional smoking ceremony with members of his tribe. Following this the Jindi Worabak Dancers performed a traditional Maori dance followed by an exchange of gifts between the indigenous elders and acknowledgement by the Maori people.

The rivalry between the dances is great as well. It shows that one can compete with one another, yet accept the way they do things where they're from. That many cultures still hold strong traditions that may be different to our own but are no less valuable or necessary. I found it interesting how you can see relations between the two not only in clothing but in the style of the dances and instruments as well. It's unnecessary to understand exactly what they're saying or doing as it's the emotion and the principle that is still successfully being conveyed. Which is great!

Professor Wayne Quilliam - Photographer

Adjunct Professor Wayne Quilliam is one of Australia's leading Indigenous photographic artists.  His work in Indigenous Affairs in Australia and Overseas has been recognised by dozens International organisations with numerous awards including the NAIDOC Indigenous Artist of the Year, Human Rights Award, Walkely Award, Business of the Year and many art accolades.

Wayne travels Australia and overseas working as a Corporate, Travel, Fashion,Architecture, Landscape, Social Documentary and Indigenous Affairs Photographer.

He has been published in more than 900 publications and recognised as one of Australia’s leading Art Photographers with exhibitions in Europe, USA, Asia, South America and Australia. 

I came across this photographer whilst doing a photography course and I instantly fell in love with his black and white photography. The contrast of tones and emotions shown throughout his photos was something that truly caught my attention. Without reading heaps of information you can gather what the story is and the emotions associated with the people portrayed. Whether he was depicting a ceremony or everyday life, Quilliam's photos allowed to an inside glance into some of the Indigenous cultural moments, which to me, is stronger than almost anything you can read. You decide for yourself what you think you see and how it makes you feel.

Black & White

Aboriginal photographer Wayne Quilliam has created, designed, developed, advised and contributed to more than 300 local, national and international campaigns. Wayne is recognised as one of Australia's leading Indigenous photographers with experience in rural, remote and urban communities and has the expertise and knowledge to assist in developing culturally appropriate visuals. Photographing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is a specialised skill which Wayne has more that 25 years experience.

When I went back to the website in order to put it on my blog, I came across his Australian Aboriginal Photography Art, which was quite different from anything I'd ever seen before. Combining intricate patterns of the earth with human forms, Quilliam was able to give a sense of both the Australian landscape and the Indigenous culture. Once again his photographs seemed to tell me more about these things than any of the things I'd read.

Australian Aboriginal Photographic Art

Lowanna is a creative series of work that combines the intricate patterns of the earth with the human form. This evolutionary work has been exhibited throughout the world including The Museum of Young Art in Austria, Art Centre Berlin Germany, Australian Embassies in Mexico, Germany, Havana, Cuba, Tokyo, Japan, Foreign Affairs in Australian and numerous international galleries and Australia. Critics have tagged this work as the new wave of Aboriginal art and photography.

Treasure Island

Artwork: Daniel Boyd, Kudjla/Gangalu peoples, Far North Queensland born 1982, Treasure Island 2005

We were shown this map at the beginning of this course in order to see just how many different Indigenous communities there are spread across Australia. I've heard that there were some negative connotations towards the simplicity and accuracy of this piece but I feel it's fulfilled a simpler purpose.

I always believed that the 'Aboriginals' in Australia were just one big community, and by looking at this art piece for a split second I could see that all my prior thoughts were incorrect. Though perhaps it may not be highly accurate or lessen the importance of each particular tribe, it still sends that message out that it ISN'T just one big community. It's a start. It gets people to look into it further - and those that are interested in finding out will do so, and will see how complex the situation is. BUT those who are not will still have learnt that there are differences in communities, that there ARE different communities at all. This is why I personally feel this work has already done something to benefit everyone, no matter what flaws it may have.

The Black Line

One of our guest lecturers mentioned the 'Black Line' in his talk to us and it's been on my mind ever since. The information he gave us was that white people formed a line and walked across Tasmania killing ever Aboriginal person along the way. I felt compelled to research this further in order to understand why, when, whom and what the outcome of all this was...

During the 1820s white settlers poured into what was then known as Van Diemen's Land, bringing vast numbers of sheep and rapidly taking up the land. Aboriginal resistance hardened. The colony fell into a a state of panic as attacks and murders became more and more frequent.

Vigilante gangs of soliders and settlers avenged Aboriginal attacks by killng men, women and children. In 1830 A military operation known as the 'Black Line' was launched against the Aboriginal people remaining in the settled districts. Every able-bodied male colonist convict or free, was to form a human chain across the settled districts, moving for three weeks south and east in a pincer movement, until the people were cornered on the Tasman Peninsula.

The Black line captured only an old man and a boy, but succeeded in clearing the remaining Aboriginal people out of the area.

Though the outcome of the Black Line fulfilled its purpose of clearing the Aboriginal people of the area, I was so relieved to hear that it wasn't a mass massacre where hundreds of people died, which is how it had sounded in the lecture. The idea, however, is still appalling and really rather disgusting. These people were herding the Aboriginal people as if they were animals, which back then they surely thought they were. Looking at circumstance like this, there really is no question who the animals were and who was in the wrong.





http://www.indigenousaustralia.info/land/invasion/tasmanian-land-war.html

Discussions: The Need to Know.

A group of my friends and I were talking about Indigenous story telling and how often we aren't given the information or the meaning behind a lot of the stories we see as created art pieces. It led onto a rather sad discussion about how we all truly want to know what these stories mean, but either because of our gender, the colour of our skin or whatever other reason, the information is often withheld from us. The question that was raised at the end was this idea about 'Equality'. We have been asked to look into Indigenous culture in order to appreciate where we are, the countries history and the people that lived here on the land before we came. The problem is, is that though we often try to find answers or ask questions, quite often due to whatever reason, the information is withheld from us.

We couldn't quite figure out how we can all expect equality and such when neither party is willing to share what has happened, or what something means to us. In order to move forward from the past, must we not accept what has happened, however wrong it may be and try and find a way through it together?

A couple of years ago I was aware of the government offering an official apology to the lost generation, and I'm not saying that it means it's forgiven and forgotten, but what more can the people of our generation really do? We are trying to understand and learn from past mistakes and of course apologise, yet still we don't seem to be forward. There is still so much hostility between the two that there doesn't seem to be an end in sight for all the tension.

The Sapphires

1968 was the year that changed the world. And for four young Aboriginal sisters from a remote mission this is the year that would change their lives forever. Around the globe, there was protest and revolution in the streets. Indigenous Australians finally secured the right to vote. There were drugs and the shock of a brutal assassination. And there was Vietnam. The sisters, Cynthia, Gail, Julie and Kay are discovered by Dave, a talent scout with a kind heart, very little rhythm but a great knowledge of soul music. Billed as Australia's answer to 'The Supremes', Dave secures the sisters their first true gig, and fly's them to Vietnam to sing for the American troops. Based on a true story, THE SAPPHIRES is a triumphant celebration of youthful emotion, family and music...

Though the majority of this movie doesn't necessary apply to this course, there was one part in particular that stood out to me whilst watching the movie. The part about one of the girls having been taken away as a child as part of the Lost Generation. No matter where you hear about these circumstances, whether it be through a poem, in the midst of a movie, for that split second you truly feel terrible for all the children that were taken away from their families, and knowing that though they found her again in the movie, many of the children would never have found or seen their parents again. 

The Review Research: Colebrook Reconciliation Park

Colebrook Reconciliation Park

For our first assignment we were asked to look at a few pieces created by a variety of Indigenous artists. My room mate and myself decided to venture to the Colebrook Reconciliation Park in Blackwood, South Australia to see the variety of pieces displayed openly to the public. 

The succession of superintendents who followed at Colebrook enforced a strict discipline. Many children were to suffer from this harsh regime. Having been removed from their families and land ties, because of the government's policy on assimilation, some were never to see their parents again.

I found this poem and it really moved me. The simplicity of the language and the message so clearly conveyed was truly heart wrenching. The helplessness of the children was very clearly shown through such a short and precise poem.

To remember the Aboriginal children of the Stolen Generation, the 'Fountain of Tears' and the 'Grieving Mother' statues, sculpted by Silvio Apponi, have been created.

On the particular day that we went, the weather had been terrible and it was really overcast which really added to the mood of all the pieces. The Grieving Mother statue was probably the piece that affected me the most, because it had been raining and it honestly looked like the rain drops were tears streaming down her body. 

References:
http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=1249 

Bran Nue Dae

Bran Nue Dae   (2009)

A few years ago my Aunt and Uncle took me to the movies to see a movie called "Bran Nue Dae". This was basically the start of my cultural awareness of the Indigenous people in Australia, as it was for the rest of the world, seeing as Geoffrey Rush was featured. Unfortunately it didn't necessarily shed a great light over them.

The Indigenous people in the movie were portrayed as drunks, people of lesser intellect and near-savages... All-in-all it was basically designed purely to take the piss.





Seeing as it's been a couple of years the only thing I can really clearly remember from the movie is part of a very catchy song:

There's nothing I would rather be
Than to be an Aborigine
and watch you take my precious land away.
For nothing gives me greater joy
than to watch you fill each girl and boy
with superficial existential sh!t.
Now you may think I'm cheeky
But I'd be satisfied
to rebuild your convict ships
and sail them on the tide.
I love the way you give me God
and of course the mining board,
for this of course I thank the Lord each day.
I'm glad you say that land rights wrong.
Then you should go where you belong
and leave me to just keep on keeping on.

Though the lyrics may be portraying what many of the Indigenous people in Australia are (and were) thinking at the time, the tune and melody was just way too cheerful, making it seem like a joke and taking any of the real meaning out of the lyrics.

For people such as myself, who know very little about their culture, it's very hard to know how to feel about songs (or movies) such as this. On one hand what they're singing about really makes you feel bad and understand how they must be feeling, but on the other a part of you wants to laugh with (or is it at?) them and just dance along...

Stevie Gadlabarti Goldsmith

We had a guest speaker come into our lecture in week 2, Stevie Gadlabarti Goldsmith, who spoke to us about the history of the Indigenous people.

A few of the things I found most interesting from his lecture were:

• There is evidence that Aboriginal Culture has been around for 300,000 years

• Storytelling is passing on knowledge

• 'The Black Line'

• Uncles are 'fathers' and aunts are 'mothers'. (One big family rather than extended)

• The man on the $50 note was the Aboriginal Leonardi da Vinci.

• Adelaide is the dreaming place of the red kangaroo (built on)

One of the things that really had me thinking at the end of the lecture was his comment about how we refer to all Indigenous people as 'Aboriginies' and how that's equivalent of saying that everyone in Europe is European rather than German, French, etc. I'd never thought of it like that so I felt rather stupid and rude for having always done that. The only problem is, is that I honestly don't know all the different groups of people in Australia and I believe there are much more than in Europe. So of course I understand that they aren't all one 'nationality' but in a sense it's also much more difficult to decipher where they are from because we haven't been taught their territories or the difference in their culture. I'm not sure whether this is because of the lack of information provided to us or the ignorance of the Australian education system. 

Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery

For one of our tutorials we were asked to go to the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery in Adelaide and look at a variety of different exhibitions and pieces and reflect on them. We were given guiding questions and were asked to think about the answers to them.

1) The museum is layered with stories. Anthropologists collect examples of material culture, take photographs, shoot movies and ask informants to tell them about their cultures and ways of life. Together these are pieced together to tell another story from the anthropologists’ perspective. Curators and exhibition designers later use these artefacts and stories to construct their own narratives.

Unlike the stories told by Aboriginal informants, the stories of anthropologists and museum curators are usually left unspoken. 

What do you think these stories are? 

How does the exhibition make you feel?

Imagine you are asked to tell stories about your culture and way of life to accompany a display of your everyday objects: tools, toys, clothes, adornments.

By collecting the artefacts and art of the Indigenous people, anthropologists almost seem to be taking away from the significance of their meaning. Taking things out of context completely changes their importance and by trying to educate people about this culture, they're actually teaching us half-truths. The things we briefly look over have such a high importance to so many people, it's just like judging a book by it's cover. What looks like mere sticks to us, after reading the information alongside them, you discover that they're really 'storytelling sticks', which to some Indigenous person would be memories. 

In western culture we create baby books, or collect and save items given to us by friends and families, to put it in context of cultural differences, it would be like someone taking a collection of photographs of us and putting them on display in a museum to educate people. I honestly don't think anyone has the right to take things of value away from the people, unless of course, the people made it especially for the museum as a means to educate, which I very much so doubt is the case.

2) Museums and archives tend to freeze life in its tracks. But the objects they contain can still speak to us. Examine the Yuendumu School doors closely. They had a past life too. They opened and closed, people entered and exited through them. The decision to paint them with these designs was revolutionary. Now, off their hinges and on a gallery wall, they tell other stories. What are they?

I spent a lot of time looking at this question before I went to the gallery and couldn't quite figure out what we could possibly expected to write about these doors. Upon seeing them it was quite clear that they weren't the ordinary doors I was expecting, but a collection of doors that had been painted with detailed stories in a huge range of colours and seeing them in a row on the wall took my breath away.

"If one were to give an account of all the doors one has closed and opened, of al the doors one would like to reopen, one would have to tell a story of one's entire life"  Gaston Bachelard, 1958

I came across this quote and it seemed to summarise everything I was thinking about whilst looking at the doors. These doors were placed all throughout a school so even just thinking about how many children would have run through the doors and what their lives could possibly have been like and how different it would have been from our school doors was enough to keep you pondering for hours at a time. I can just imagine what it would have been like to have these stories painted on the doors and to walk through them and to remember, what I assume were lessons, that were told through images. At my old school in Hong Kong we were also able to paint murals which were hung up around the school to add some colour and visual interest, but in comparison they seem rather pathetic. Ours were copies we had done of famous art pieces and not stories that would relate to us in some way.

Putting these doors in a museum however, really seemed to give them a rather eery mood. Knowing that these doors once hung in a school and now they were just hung in a row in a museum was actually rather saddening. Taking something like this out of its context, placed throughout a school, and putting them merely in a row at a museum for people to examine, took away a lot of the meaning for me.

3) Find five other objects or displays that most capture your interest. What attracted you to them? What do they say to you?

The first thing I came across that caught my eye was a 'Kurlama Ceremonial Cap' which was made from paper bark and feathers. The reason I believe this really caught my eye was that it looked very different to the type of hats we tend to wear in our culture. When I attempted to draw the item in my sketchbook so that I'd remember what it looked like, it ended up looking like a flower in a vase. Though this probably says more about my drawing than about the object, the naturalistic element that combined the shapes and our culture really stood out to me.

Shields (image from Museum of Vic)

The next items I looked at were a row of shields. Apparently they were used for more than self defence because they actually also proclaimed the owner's identity. They contained this totemic design which differed amongst different regions but all carried the same essential meaning or message. After reading this information I knew this was going to be one of my five before I even looked around the rest of the museum. It intrigued me to think that they could show their identity through a few shapes or messages on a shield. I couldn't even start to debate what I would put on my shield that would summarise even part of who I am, what I do or what I would like to achieve...

Bark Bucket (image from Museum of WA)

Unlike the shields, the bark buckets didn't seem to have a continuity amongst them. They all had different abstract shapes etc on them and were highly abstract. I read the information next to them and saw that the design refers to the complex relationships between the Tiwi and the dreaming ancestors. In our culture the closest we come to even thinking about our 'dreams' (though I doubt that's what dreaming ancestors are), is that some people have a dream journal. I can't even imagine people trying to put their dreams on buckets in a variety of abstract shapes. The simplicity of their communication is rather beautiful.

The Beginning..

I consider myself lucky. I grew up with a multicultural background.
My mother was from Germany, father from Australia and I was born and grew up in Hong Kong.
When you grow up like that, you always think you know things about the world that others don't quite understand, and believe you're truly capable of seeing things differently. That is until you find something you've never really had the motivation to learn about before.

The only experience, prior to this course, that I'd ever had with Indigenous art, culture or design was the very poor attempts of creating dot paintings in my high school in Hong Kong. We were given a list of symbols that were meant to represent words, and from there we were asked to create a final art piece telling some sort of story. In the end the majority of us ended up trying to create pretty pictures and making up a story out of that, as you would do when you're young and you don't quite understand the actual importance of such a thing to an entire populace. It makes it really interesting to look back now, with perhaps a little more appreciation and more of an open mind, willing to understand their culture and their true identities.