Appropriation: a two way street?
It is evident that the popularisation of Aboriginal art has been strongly connected with the artists of the Western Desert, who transcribed Dreaming imagery from sand designs and body ornamentation onto canvas, using acrylic paints. In particular, the dotting techniques employed by many of these artists have become internationally recognised in association with Aboriginal art. However, these artists do not define Aboriginal art any more than they define Aboriginality. (It is worth noting that while Aboriginal people comprise a significant proportion of the population of the Northern Territory - around 23% - a much greater number of Aboriginal people live in other areas of Australia, for example, in New South Wales.)
Among the diversity of work by Aboriginal artists are portrayals of stark social realism and confronting political commentary. The artists themselves take various perspectives to the question of personal identity, ranging from ‘discovery’ of Aboriginality (eg Sally Morgan) to freer, less labelled, self-descriptions (eg Gordon Bennett).
The work of Bennett is particularly interesting in relation to the issue of appropriation. A number of his works incorporate existing images that are modified or reframed in order to pose a challenge or question. In an interview in 1993, he had this to say about the process:
The strategy I’m employing is a rereading of images that exist within the pages of history books or school texts or just images that have kind of been put to sleep in a way and now exist between pages on library shelves. Images that people rarely see but which have become a part of the visual referencing of how Australians see themselves.
... My strategy using appropriation has been to dig these images out and recontextualise either part or all of them in some way so that they can be reread in the present context ... It’s like bringing them back to life, resuscitating them, and exploring their meanings given what we know about Australia now.
(Gordon Bennett, 1996)
On the question of self-identity, Bennett observed:
I’m very conscious of being appropriated to fit whoever’s particular theory about Aboriginality or even post-colonialism. Sure, I’m exploring identity, but I’m trying to make it obvious about how open it is … I’m not naive in the sense I believe I can recapture some essence of identity that colonisation has denied me, some sense of an original identity that only I can speak of and defend. However, paradoxically, I do keep insisting on defining myself, but in ways that are creative and fluid and not static and essentialist. One of my strategies is constantly to take issue with imposed names such as ‘urban Aboriginal artist’.
(Gordon Bennett, 1996)
Discussion points
- Describe your own identity as it relates to Australia’s colonial occupation.
- How do you think artists’ relationships to the mainstream arts community and institutions might affect the way that they develop?