SHIFTING THE NARRATIVE Alternative Histories

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This exhibition brings together works from the Cairns Art Gallery Collection and continues the Gallery’s commitment to and interest in contributing to international research to explore diverse narratives around issues race, identity and place.The history of white settlement and first contact is one of shame and sadness, especially in Australia. Globally, we are increasingly compelled to revisit histories that for so long have been regarded as grounded in truth. What we are discovering is confronting and difficult, because truth is not always as it seems and often conventions and norms of the day result in a version of history that is based more on convenience than fact.

The works in the exhibition have been grouped together to suggest new ways of unravelling some of the complex and disturbing narratives around the settlement and development of far north Queensland, including many non-Indigenous people who have witnessed and experienced the darker side of nation building. Issues of cultural diversity, identity and social and political inequity are explored through works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists as well as artists from other ethnic backgrounds whose ancestors immigrated to Australia during the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

As we explore the events around the early days of first contact in Queensland in the 1830s, it is evident that prevailing conditions and government policies of the day were based on accepted notions of white supremacy, endorsed by a convenient international law that deemed Australian land, which was occupied by 500,000 to 1 million Aboriginal people, as Terra Nullius, meaning land belonging to no-one. This legal definition gave rights to the early colonists and tacitly condoned the massacres and brutality that went with white occupation of Queensland and other parts of Australia.Art continues to be a powerful language through which to give expression to and raise ideas for discussion and debate. This is most evident in the work of many contemporary Indigenous artists who believe change is both desirable and possible.

IMAGES: 

Greg SEMU Native Police Tracker Hut 1 2016-2017 from the Blood Red series digital print purchased by Cairns Art Gallery, 2019
Naomi HOBSON A Bed No-More 2019 digital print purchased by Cairns Art Gallery, 2019
Ezekiel DICK Amy Loogatha 2018 digital print purchased by Cairns Art Gallery, 2018
William YANG My family in North Queensland 2001 gelatin photographs purchased by Cairns Art Gallery, 2001
Roy MCIVOR The Removal 2015 etching purchased by Cairns Art Gallery, 2017
Daniel BOYD Untitled 2013 oil and archival glue on linen donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Daniel Boyd for the people of Yarrabah, 2015
Tracey MOFFATT AO I made a camera 2003 lithograph Gift of the artist
Vernon AH KEE Merv Ah Kee (my father) 2017 Charcoal, pastel, synthetic polymer paint on linen purchased by the Cairns Art Gallery, 2017
Alan OLDFIELD The Voyage, First Day 2000 from the Story of Mrs Watson 1881 series oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas board purchased by the Cairns Art Gallery, 1999

       Related exhibitions:                                                                                           
                                                                  

EXHIBITION PUBLICATION | 
Queen's Lands Black Portraiture

A comprehensive publication supports the exhibition Queen’s Land Blak Portraiture, presented at the Cairns Art Gallery in partnership with Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. The publication is available on line and printed copies are available for purchase from the Gallery Shop.

 
EXHIBITION PUBLICATION | 
Daniel Boyd Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet brings together major works that trace the hidden history of slavery in Far North Queensland that resulted in 60,000 South Sea Islander people being taken to work in sugarcane plantations from the mid-1800s and early-1900s. 

 
EXHIBITION PUBLICATION | 
Continental Drift 

Continental Drift highlights the shared experiences of contemporary black / blak artists from South Africa and north Australia. While both countries have different histories, British colonisation had dramatic effects on their black peoples, many of which continue to be experienced today.

 

EXHIBITION ESSAY | Greg Semu

Greg Semu is an interdisciplinary artist of Samoan heritage who was born and raised in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Semu’s first-hand experience of displacement has imbued him with empathy for other First Nations peoples.