The affect of Lockhart River's indigenous art
During the opening weekend events of the Queensland Art Gallery's exhibition, 'Storyplace Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest' (2003), Noel Pearson addressed a function held for sponsors of the exhibition.' Pearson is one of the country's most respected and prominent political and legal Indigenous identities and as always, he delivered a hard-hitting and inspirational statement about the status and future of Indigenous communities in the Cape York region, his homeland. Pearson outlined an imperative for Cape York's Indigenous communities to regard and conduct themselves as multicultural, or at the very least bicultural Australians, if their Indigenous identity is to continue and thrive. He stressed that Indigenous peoples simply could not afford to maintain exclusively monocultural traditions in the present day, and that the road to self-empowerment lay in a cultural integrity that understands both Indigenous and non-indigenous modes of experience.
Pearson clearly prioritises the reality of life and the wellbeing of his people over the well-rehearsed polemics that underscore much discussion regarding Indigenous culture at the present time. Rather than simply talking about self-empowerment, he has a plan of action towards it, and his momentum deserves support. The ways in which Australian Indigenous art is received by audiences might seem insignificant in terms of this support, however this is not the case (and perhaps that is why Pearson delivered this particular address at the Queensland Art Gallery). Pearson's appeal for a new orientation is in fact already foreshadowed by art produced in Cape York communities, particularly those such as Lockhart River, Hopevale and Aurukun. However the climate for reception of this art is far from up to speed, and whilst there are many areas where understanding of contemporary... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline