A Year in Art: Australia, 1992

Interesting exhibition at Tate Modern looking at how contemporary art responded to the 1992 Mabo Decision which overturned the principle that the land had belonged to no-one when it was colonised but instead belonged to the indigenous people who were living there.

For an art gallery the show told the story of the decision well to set up the exhibitions premise and to highlight the issues. I liked the gallery that followed which showed works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye and John Mawurndjul who were both elders of their communities. The former worked on bark using fine cross hatching called rarrk.

Works which stood out for me included the attached by Gordan Bennett which hung opposite a 1937 painting whose sentiments it questions and the series by Judy Watson which covered archive documents stopping people voting with “a preponderance of aboriginal blood” with blood like stains.

Closes Spring 2022

Review

Guardian


 

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