Australian Indigenous Art Fair focusing climate change also questions colonial commentary on aboriginals

An online exhibition entitled Cook 2020 which ran along Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) this year  questioned the imbalance in written colonial history and the First Peoples’ oral history through various media platforms. The event was brought to India by the Australian Consulate, Chennai. The theme of CIAF was to trace the response of indigenous art to climate change. Both the exhibitions jointly put together around 500 artworks for 360 degree viewing, as part of the NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) week: Australia’s yearly celebrations of the history, culture and achievements of the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

According to Australian indigenous artist Rhonda Brim  the craft like weaving a dilly bag made with twisted bark fibres was used as a food strainer and preparation basket waned during days of the Mona Mona Mission — around 1913 when large numbers of Djabugay people were forcibly taken to a religious congregation in Queensland and in effect robbed of their traditional arts and language.

Janina Harding, one of the curators and artistic director of CIAF 2020  remarked in virtual interaction,”Indigenous art can draw from tradition. But, it can also draw from one’s lived experiences as an indigenous person.”

Indigenous artist and educator Arone Meeks talked about the diversity in cultural identities,  from dotted painting style in the central desert area to ‘rarrk’ design, a cross-hatching style done on dried bark in the NorthWest region of Australia, there is a stark distinction, informed Meeks. Eventually the environment in which the work is created influences the artwork. 

Cover pic from CIAF website.