Ancestors + Creators
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Janet Fieldhouse, Kalaw Lagaw Ya/Meriam Mir peoples, Sister Charm, 2023, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, on loan from the artist and Art Makers
‘Our Ancestors laid down the foundations for who we are, creating an enduring identity and establishing our families, communities, complex kinship systems, and ways of behaving and interacting with each other. It is this continuity through time, space, and place that connects and informs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.’
As cultures that have existed and continued to grow since time immemorial, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations are intimately connected to and governed by ancestors and creation beings. It is this connection that shapes the ongoing custodianship of Country, ceremony, culture, and art. The artists of today both honour and elevate the legacy of their ancestors and immortalise the Dreaming’s of tomorrow.
Treasure Island
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Daniel Boyd, Kudjla/Gangalu/Kuku Yalanji/Jagara/Wangerriburra/Bandjalung peoples, Treasure Island, 2005, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra © Daniel Boyd
‘History informs the present. We come from the oldest living culture on Earth, and hopefully with the events that have happened… people understand now that we’re not going anywhere, we’re still here.’
Daniel Boyd, Kudjla/Gangalu/Kuku-Yalanji/Jagara/Wangerriburra/Bundjalung peoples, is a multi-disciplinary artist with First Nations ancestry spanning the East Coast of the continent. As a key focus of his practice, Daniel encourages audiences to reflect on how Australian’s view our shared history.
Treasure Island, 2005, is a large-scale painting of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Map of First Nations language groups. On top of the stylised map, Daniel has written ‘Treasure Island’ in black cursive font. The relationship between the AIATSIS Map and ‘Treasure Island’ calls for viewers to consider how Australia’s colonial history may be similar to piracy. As Daniel expresses, colonisation and pirates have similar impacts and morals, such as stealing land for greed.
‘Their intensions to me seemed dishonest and dishonourable, traits I found too similar to modes of operation related to piracy. The process of colonisation of terra nullius allowed me to experiment and explore different subject matter under the blanket of piracy and construct and alternate version of our history.’
The work also encourages viewers to examine the modern consequences and ongoing piracy of First Nations communities, from intergenerational trauma to the mining sector.1
1 Defying Empire, Brenda L Croft
Research
Experiences of piracy and colonisation have impacted many First Nations communities across the continent, and across time. Even though, some of our past is spoken about in a national context, we often fail to focus on the history of local areas.
Much of this history is not focussed on, particularly in a localised context.
Research the following:
- Where were the nearest genocides that occurred near where you live?
- Where were the nearest missions and/or reserves?
- What was Brisbane’s Boundary Street used for? Did your town have a Boundary Street?
This history is important to understand. Not to generate guilt or division, but to appreciate the everyday consequences and ongoing impacts of Australia’s history. This history contributes heavily to the intergenerational trauma that many First Nations people carry today.
Sister Charm
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Janet Fieldhouse, Kalaw Lagaw Ya/Meriam Mir peoples, Sister Charm (detail), 2023, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, on loan from the artist and Art Makers
‘My work is an expression of my Torres Strait Islander heritage: the material culture, rituals of social and religious life, and artefacts which are created to fulfil the functional and spiritual needs of the peoples of the Torres Straits.’
With ancestry connecting to the Moa, Kirriri, Prince of Wales, Badu, and Erub Islands in the Torres Strait, Janet Fieldhouse’s artistic practice examines her deep confluence of culture and knowledge. Since 2020, Janet has continued to merge her ceramic sculpting expertise with the Torres Strait Islander charms of her ancestors. These small charms have many uses, such as encouraging good plant growth when placed in a garden.1
Sister Charm, 2023, is a 2.7-metre-tall bronze sculpture that stands in the Australia Garden at the National Gallery of Australia. The sculpture features the sea turtle, feather headband, and weaving forms used in Torres Strait Islander culture. To achieve the large-scale representation, the manufacturing company, Urban Art Projects, used 3D scanning to translate Janet’s ceramic maquette into stainless steel and bronze.
Janet says, “I’ve decided to use it [Sister Charm, 2023] for good. I say it’s for love”. The charm contains many cultural forms, such as weaving, headdress, and memory. By representing so much of Janet’s culture, Sister Charm is a threshold object, transporting viewers into the artist’s memories and culture. Whilst it represents Torres Strait Islander culture, Janet also says, “everyone will actually have a different view of it, of their story. I don’t mind that”.
1 Janet Fieldhouse: Charmed, I’m Sure, Tina Baum in Art Collector, Jul 2023. Available at: Artist Profile: Janet Fieldhouse - Art Collector Magazine
Reflect
Sister Charm can be described as a threshold object – an object that acts as a door to access memories and connections. Objects can often unlock the memories we attach to them. Think about our own threshold objects.
Think about a personal memory of yours that is strong and safe for you. Transport yourself into that memory and connect with all the senses associated within it.
What can you see?
What can you feel on your skin?
What can you smell?
What can you hear?
What can you taste?
What types of objects could you sense within your memory? For example, if your memory was of your first day of school, maybe you could smell the erasers, or feel the shoes on your feet.
Choose one object from your memory. Can you find this object, or a similar object where you are? Pick up your object, and play around with it, feel its surfaces, notice its colours and shapes, and what sound it might make. Reflect on how this object acts as a threshold - a door leading into your memory.
Create
Using your abstracted threshold object, create a wearable object to represent your memory. You could create a bracelet, brooch, pin, or earrings for example. Think about how you can translate the original object into a new material and scale.
If it’s difficult to translate your object into a wearable object, you might need to further abstract your original object, for example, down to a single colour. Your creation isn’t supposed to look exactly like the original! Instead, the wearable object should have qualities that act as a threshold back to your special memory.