White Bred

Commensurate with my current foray into POP, I’ve conceived this series based on the conversation with Amanda Lee Radomi, at the onset of our collaboration for Tarnanthi.

Logos, icons & ‘e’ symbols have dominated our modern scope. The generic nature of certain icons have become so popularised that, their visual effectiveness have seen them become mandatory in their placement. For example… the ON button logo that APPLE conceived now somehow appears on most electrical products requiring electronic startup. The WI-FI symbol appears consistently, originally light blue in colour and now pink, a trademark of Telstra Corporation.

In this exhibition I’ve created icons exemplary of modern Australiana and particularly symbols that reflect domination, rule and stereotypical elements identified with mono – cultured colonial culture.

But because these elements have become commonplace within Indigenous society, either physically or psychologically, they appear painted only in ochres. Mostly the items are WHITE. Characteristically I apply a heavy black key-line, representative of the spiritualty that surrounds us upon this continent. The seven bands of red I yellow ochre that form the background reflect the five ‘states’ – two ‘territories’ that have conformed Aboriginal ‘Australia’.

The clear dots represent the transparency of many Aboriginal cultures, how they are perceived in modern society particularly within the lands that I was raised.