personal reflection

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Figure 1- Acknowledgement of Country

013883- Aboriginal Sydney Now, Assessment #2- Event Review

By J___________

The following review will examine two Indigenous exhibitions, comparing and contrasting

key issues and ideas that rised from the viewing. The first event entitled Badu Gili is a nightly

light display at the Sydney Opera House, exploring the ancient stories of the First Nations.

The second event entitled Gapu-Monuk Saltwater is an exhibition located at the Sydney

Maritime Museum, examining the journey to the sea of the Yolnu people and their right for

Indigenous sea rights. As I will explore in this review, these exhibitions are important to

recognise because ‘…art doesn’t end or become stagnant when an artist dies. Culture is as

strong as the individuals keeping it alive’ (McAuliffe 2018, lecture, 20 August).

Badu Gili:

Twilight beckons, as the wind soars around Circular Quay. It is a busy Tuesday night, and the

people move about in a frenzied hurry. As I approach the Opera House, I find myself lost (see

figure 1) not sure where to go.

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Figure 2- Badu Gili Light Show

Figure 3- Badu Gili Light Show

There is no signage directing me to the nightly event of Badu Gili (meaning ‘water light’ in

the language of the traditional owners- the Gadigal people) and I worry I will miss it. I

expected the sails of the Opera House to be alight with artwork, exploring the ancient stories

of the First Nations, but I see nothing. Finally, just as the display is about to start, on a whim

I climb the Monumental Steps and find the projected light display- Badu Gili, on the smallest

of the eastern sails. The sail comes alive with colour as the stories of the First Nations

transpire for the small crowd (see figure 2-4).

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Figure 4- Badu Gili Light Show

Figure 5- Badu Gili Display Information

Once the light display is over, three things have occurred to me, mostly surrounding the

importance of identity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Firstly, while the event is aimed to engage with the general public, the lack of hubs of

information means there is no contextual understanding of the display. In fact, the only piece

of information I could find was a small piece of writing stating this was the display (see

figure 5).

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I found this alarming, because without the contextual understanding of the artwork, the

exhibition could be mistaken as a simple light projection with pretty artwork. As Bodkin-

Andrews, Bodkin, Andrews and Evans highlight the use of Aboriginal stories and art are used

as ‘…passive objects to be studied from Western perspectives…’ (2017, p. 3). The lack of

information about the artists or what we’re viewing, means those from Western backgrounds

may place these stories into repurposed Western contexts, in turn silencing Indigenous

standpoints.

Secondly, this made me critically aware just how important recognition and contextualisation

is when viewing or interacting with Aboriginal culture. As Moreton-Robinson notes Western

thinking fails to ‘…grasp the complexity of ontology (ways of being), axiology (ways of

doing) and epistemologies (ways of knowing) (Moreton-Robinson 2011 in Bodkin-Andrews

et al 2017, p. 21). I believe it is therefore important for this light display to have hubs of

information, that will allow the First Nations worldviews to be expressed. As Bodkin-

Andrews et al highlight, these stories ‘…are not just pre-colonial Law and Creation stories,

but essential stories of survival and resiliency, against the onslaught of colonisation…’

paving the way for identity and growth for many Indigenous communities (2017, p. 29).

Finally, while the light display has these issues of contextualisation, I also believe the space it

inhabits is vital for greater recognition of Aboriginal culture and understanding. The Opera

House attracts people from all nationalities and I think this event allows for a reconciliation

of Country. In visiting this event, individuals are told they are standing on the land formerly

known as Tubowgule (‘where the knowledge waters meet’), ‘…a gathering place for

community, ceremony and storytelling for thousands of years’ (Sydney Opera House 2018,

para. 3). We are told the light projection traces the songlines of ‘…shifting terrain, from the

Australian desert to the waters of the Torres Strait’ (Sydney Opera House 2018, para. 6). I

believe it is important that this public space is used to share these songlines as they

acknowledge ‘…the allegiance to the land, to the laws, to life, to ancestors and to each other’

(Yunupingu 2016, para. 3). By using these cultural spaces we can create a greater

understanding of the original inhabitants, and allow this public space to showcase the

‘…production, circulation and consumption…of Aboriginal people and of the processes of

“representing culture” (Myers 1991, p. 28).

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Figure 6- Gapu Monuk Display

Figure 7- Yolnu Art

Gapu-Monuk Saltwater:

As you walk through the Gapu-Monuk Saltwater exhibition, you can immediately sense the

care and detail that has went into informing individuals about the Yolnu people. The

individual is invited to immerse themselves in the culture: videos and music play so that it

feels like you’re transported out of the room and onto the coast (see figure 6); artwork and

traditional items line the walls (see figure 7), detailing the culture of the Yolnu people; and

interactive information hubs (see figure 8) are set up so that individuals can learn more about

the plight of the Yolnu people and their fight for Indigenous sea rights.

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Figure 8- Information Hub

Figure 9- Information about Yolnu People

In fact, in stark contrast to the Badu Gili light display, the Gapu-Monuk Saltwater exhibition

is a trove in highlighting the importance of law, justice, community and family.

As stated, what makes the Gapu-Monuk Saltwater standout compared to the Badu Gili

exhibition is that knowledge and recognition is spread throughout. There are infographs (see

figure 9) bursting with information to immerse the individual into the plight of the Yolnu

people, highlighting the intrinsic links of law and justice for Aboriginal people.

This exhibition highlights the hard-work Aboriginal peoples need to go to, in order to claim

land that is rightly theirs. Even though the second criteria of a successful native title claim

exists if ‘the people have a connection with the land or waters by those laws and customs…’

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Figure 10- Yolnu Kinship

(Native Title Act 1993). As was mentioned throughout the event, the initial claim was rejected

on the grounds of a previous decision of the High Court, highlighting how Native Title ‘…is

unduly onerous, complex and technical…’ (Tan and Evershed 2015, para. 1). This made me

question, how trustworthy is the law for Indigenous land claims, when they can be overturned

by previous rulings? This event made me think of Whittaker’s words and the idea of

pluralism to allow a recognition of Aboriginal law into Australian law, instead of the current

proactive and reactive relationship that currently exists (2018, lecture, 28 August).

Finally, the exhibition also highlighted the importance of resiliency and the bonds of

community and family. Throughout the exhibition, the faces and voices of important figures

in the Yolnu kinship group are all interwoven (see figure 10), whether they be elders,

fishermen, artists etc.

Everyone in this kinship group has a role to play and it reminded me of the lecture when

Trudgett quotes Parks, Macquarie-Williams and Manson, in that the “notion of family is

complex and expansive…it is a connection of family, culture and Country” (2018, lecture, 11

August). This exploration of family and community, made me realise just how important

these bonds are, and how everyone in the community is considered family, rather than the

traditional “nuclear” family we have in Western culture. As Page notes, this sense of

community creates a sense of commonality between people and a shared understanding

within kinship groups (2018, lecture, 20 August). Therefore, the Gapu-Monuk Saltwater

exhibition, is vital viewing not just for Aboriginal people, but for Western audiences, to learn

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how Aboriginal people inhabit Country. This is supported by Fredericks who states that

Aboriginal people are able to reconnect to place, through ‘…the use of signs, symbols,

images and representations, to assert our connection and ownership’ (2013, p. 15).

In finality, both exhibitions raised important issues and questions that are pertinent

throughout the subject. They examine complex notions connected to land, the law and to each

other. It is important that these exhibitions and events continue to exist, so that we can

acknowledge and respect the voices and knowledges of the first custodians.

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Reference List:

Bodkin-Andrews, G., Bodkin, A.F., Andrews, U.G. & Evans, U.R. 2017, “Aboriginal

identity, world views, research and the story of the Burra’gorang” In C. Kickett-

Tucker, D. Bessarab, J. Coffin, & M. Wright (eds), Mia Mia Aboriginal Community

Development- Fostering cultural security (pp. 19-36). Cambridge: CUP.

Fredericks, B.L. 2013, ‘We don’t leave our identities at the city limits’: Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people living in urban localities, Australian Aboriginal Studies,

vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 4-16.

McAuliffe, A. 2018, ‘Michael Riley and Daniel Riley’, UTS Online Subject 013993, lecture

video, UTS Sydney, viewed 13 August 2018,

<https://online.uts.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2990593-dt-content-rid-

33539960_1/courses/013992-013993-2018-SPRING-

CITY/Michael%20and%20Daniel%20Riley%20Final.mp4>

Myers, F. 1991, ‘Representing Culture: The Production of Discourse(s) for Aboriginal

Acrylic Paintings, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 26-62.

Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

Page, S. 2018, ‘Aboriginal Sydney now Elders and Community’, UTS Online Subject

013993, PowerPoint presentation, UTS Sydney, viewed 20 August,

<www.online.uts.edu.au/013993/lecture_5/>

Sydney Opera House 2018, Badu Gili, viewed 26 August 2018,

<https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/visit-us/BaduGili.html>

Tan, M. & Evershed, N. 2015, Native title review finds process slow, resource intensive and

inflexible, The Guardian, viewed 28 August 2018,

<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jun/29/native-title-review-finds-

process-slow-resource-intensive-and-inflexible>

Trudgett, M. 2018, ‘Aboriginal Sydney Now Family’, UTS Online Subject 013993,

PowerPoint presentation, UTS Sydney, viewed 11 August,

<www.online.uts.edu.au/013993/lecture_4/>

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Whittaker, A. 2018, ‘Aboriginal Sydney Now Law and Justice’, UTS Online Subject 013993,

PowerPoint presentation, UTS Sydney, viewed 28 August,

<www.online.uts.edu.au/013993/lecture_10/>

Yunupingu, G. 2016, ‘ROM WATANGU: The Law of The Land’, The Monthly, Issue 124,

July, Melbourne, Schwartz Publishing Pty Ltd.