My Story - South Stradbroke Island Indigenous Artist Camp 2015 · Teaching art to a group of adults was challenging and pushed me to remember my lessons as an art student from the

South Stradbroke Island Indigenous Artist Camp 2015

MY STORY

SOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND INDIGENOUS ARTIST CAMP 2015

INTRODUCTION

Being on South Stradbroke Island was familiar and yet foreign territory for me as a Badtjala artist from Fraser Island. Teaching art to a group

of adults was challenging and pushed me to remember my lessons as an art student from the 1980s.

Unknown to each other in the beginning we started our first drawing exercise to a sound track by David Page (eyes shut) using pastels to

express what we had heard. The workshop brought discipline to the group with drawing exercises that were hard work over two and a half

days. Each day the students had to draw upon new untapped areas of themselves. Large sheets of paper, different materials, a space to

experiment and make mistakes and draw with hot wax for the first time I am sure left an impression.

In the evenings the students shared their art making experiences from fashion design, jewellery, theatre, installations and exhibitions to

public art commissions. Each has a rich history and will continue to grow as artists.

Fiona Foley, 2015

INSTALLATION BY FIONA FOLEY – SOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, 2015

FOREWORD

My Story is the essence of how true collaborative artistic talent can draw out the core of what it takes to be an artist in today’s world.

In its second year, the South Stradbroke Island Indigenous Artist Camp has created another opportunity for a new group of artists to share their ideas and explore new and exciting methods through artistic expression. This year’s camp was led by Fiona Foley, offering both a two way creative exchange through intense workshops from day one to shared conversations revealing the complex intimate experiences through the sharing of each person’s art journey and family links discovered during their time on the island.

There was a broad mix of artists some who had fresh water connections and others who were very familiar with the saltwater environment, however the commonality between all artists was they all appreciated the time to concentrate purely on art making and the provoking of thoughts around ideas were sparked even from conversations exchanged during bush walks or drawing exercises.

Each artist were at different stages of their careers, but there was a common bond in the acknowledgement of identity and the important role culture plays, not only through art, but in everyday life. South Stradbroke Island was the selected location for many reasons and more specifically plays a significant role in assuring the minimal distractions of everyday life on the mainland, even though the island is only a short boat ride from the mainland it is very distant from everyday life in the city.

We were honoured to have several people contribute the camp, including; Maureen Newton, our local Elder in Residence; Lindy Salter, a local historian of the island; Patricia Adjei from the Copyright Agency who shared her knowledge of Copyright law; Hague Best, Indigenous Cultural Heritage Officer- City of Gold Coast and Selwyn Tambo who provided his knowledge of the local waters and use of his boat throughout the week. Also we had two very good hosts, Karen and Steve Johnson, caretakers of Dux Camp. Another important part of the camp was the 30 visitors from all sectors of Government and the arts and cultural industry who joined us for the day on the Thursday of the camp. They spent a day with the artists and also enjoyed a great lunch prepared by Karen and Steve and helped us eat 30 freshly caught mud-crabs and sand-crabs.

During the selection of works for the exhibition it became relevant that this year’s camp provided an important dialogue around the debate between traditional and contemporary and what it means to be an urban Indigenous artist — by surviving entertaining tourists or being appreciated as artists in their own right.

Michael Aird and Jo-Anne Driessens

Photos by Jo-Anne Driessens

1

SOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND INDIGENOUS ARTIST CAMP 2015MY STORY

GLENN BARRY

“My focus in this piece is going to be this spiral. Working on this spiral

idea came about through connecting to the land we are on here. I love the

textual quality of the wax, the depth that it gives, and the contrast between

the ink and the wax. I have never done anything like this. This is all brand

new to me. It is good, It has opened up a dormant part of me, part of me

that I may have looked at in the past and said, that is great, but I could

never do that myself. It is venturing outside of what I have been focusing on

or training with.

I have simple symbols here but I am going to fill it with lots of detail, which

is what I normally do. These details are infused with what I learnt of the

environment from our stay here on South Stradbroke Island. When the

group started drawing, I was overwhelmed. I was judging myself harshly

against what others were doing, and I was going backwards because of that

judgement. On the second effort, I just said this is what I am doing and this

is what came out. I didn’t look at anyone else’s. I did my own version.

It is like anything, finding what identity is; a reflection of my environment

and the people I am around and influenced by. But at the same time, how

do I go past that point of copying? Which I have always been aware of and

I generally make a concerted effort not to make each series similar to each

other. I do one image, or an image and an idea, then I do a different idea.

Then I look and find the links between them. Whether this process is to my

detriment or not, I am not quite sure.

I did a different one with a spiral and text. Then I used the shell as a model

and realised it too was a spiral, so there is a series within one idea, a

connection so to speak. As it is getting more resolved, I think this will give

me the confidence that will help me continue. This approach has led me to

be more flexible with my ideas and to push through my old ways and look

for resolving ideas. This has the effect of clearer communication as well.

As artists we have to be flexible and approachable and if people commission

us, we have to be able to put their ideas down. It might not be the thing we

normally do. I like coming up with fresh ideas of how to do things. Always

learning. Always learning. If I am always wanting to learn, I will always have

a fresh approach and I will always be changing.”

“... I LOVE THE TEXTUAL QUALITY OF THE WAX, THE DEPTH THAT IT

GIVES, AND THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE INK AND THE WAX.”

SPIRALSCAPE, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT, BEESWAX AND

INDIAN INK ON PAPER 107CM X 78CM

Photos by Jo-Anne Driessens

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SCAR TREE, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT, BEESWAX AND CHARCOAL ON PAPER108CM X 78CM

“There are a few designs that I do, they come from around my traditional

area. I wear them on my skin. I dream about these. They are on trees and

I walk in amongst them in ceremonial sites. They appear in a lot of my

artworks.

I teach art and I have been flat out lately and I need to just stop, but I want

to be the student this time. I want to learn new techniques, new tools

of the trade and see how somebody else teaches as well, but to be the

student. I think we are always a student, but to be actively in that role of

learning and developing.

This camp has taken me out of my comfort zone. I’m definitely going to be

collaborating with some of the people in this group and I am pretty sure I

am going to be seeing them all around the traps.

LUKE CLOSE“...MY ART WORLD IS JUST EXPANDING THAT LITTLE

BIT FURTHER NOW. IT IS GOOD TO GET CONNECTED

WITH PEOPLE.”

My art world is just expanding that little bit further now. It is good to get

connected with people and I will actively make an effort to stay connected.”

Photo by Jo-Anne Driessens Photo by Michael Aird

54


DELVENE COCKATOO-COLLINS

“Our family has been a family of hunters and gatherers and I feel like I am

fulfilling that responsibility. Since as far back as I can remember Nan and

Mum would take us out to gather wild-flowers to take to the graves. There

are photographs that were taken when I was about five and my face can be

seen popping up over the top of the flowers.

As a practicing artist, the materials I work with are mostly natural materials.

They are washed up seeds and shells, usually gathered while I’ve been on

walks along back beach with family. I also create ceramic sculptures out of

different types of clay including porcelain.

My works are inspired by the people around me, the natural environment,

lived experiences and stories handed down.

Being on camp I’ve been able to concentrate on creating without the

normal everyday responsibilities. Walking the beaches of South Stradbroke,

I felt drawn to walk north towards my family on Minjerribah - North

Stradbroke Island.

We were fortunate to have a pandanus at the front of the cabin I shared

with four inspirational Aboriginal women. One night on camp we were

getting ready to go to sleep and in the dark, we all asked each other

whether we missed our children.

We all burst out laughing together about how, although we told our

children we missed them, we actually deep down, didn’t miss them (that

much), as it was one of the first times we all had freedom to create and

not worry about anyone else. We still love them, but this was just a blissful

week of not worrying about cooking dinner, getting kids to school and

other everyday responsibilities.

Between us there were 10 children who were all at home being taken care

of by supportive and understanding partners or parents. Each morning after

a night of full sleep I would get up and look at this pandanus palm, which

to me feels like freedom. I imprinted the clay I bought with me to remind

me when I got back home.”

“... MY WORKS ARE INSPIRED BY THE PEOPLE AROUND ME, THE NATURAL

ENVIRONMENT, LIVED EXPERIENCES AND STORIES HANDED DOWN.”

SIX GENERATIONS, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT, BEESWAX AND CHARCOAL ON PAPER78CM X 55CMPhoto by Jo-Anne Driessens

76


SEAWEED INSTALLATIONSOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, 2015

L IBBY HARWARD

“Just being here on this country is really important, just having the time

to connect with artists and discussing the way we practice and what that

means to us and our responsibility within our families and within the world

as Aboriginal artists.

It is really inspiring hearing about history and getting context to different

government policies. It helps me place different stories from elders and the

way they talk about their experiences. I really want to be able to bring that

into my arts practice. Just tell that story and give it a bit of a timeline.

My story, I am reconnecting with lost stories in my family line. So to hear

other people talk about and refer back to photos and dates and matching

them with policy and matching them with history and documents it just

validates the experience that I always thought wasn’t valid. I just carried that

because that is what was handed down, that I was disconnected. That is

what has been handed down and that is my Aboriginal story.”

“IT IS REALLY INSPIRING HEARING ABOUT

HISTORY AND GETTING CONTEXT TO DIFFERENT

GOVERNMENT POLICIES.”

Photo by Jo-Anne Driessens

Photo by Michael Aird

98


CHANTAL HENLEY

“It has taken me a little while to switch from being an arts worker to taking

a step towards my own art practice. I have always done my weaving and

printing as part of my job. For me as a textile designer, I have always created

work from a brief that is always straight forward. It is either to weave a

dilly bag or create a costume, but I have never really taken the chance of

pushing a strong message. That is something I want to try and achieve in

the best way that I can.

I am really excited about creating some new work, looking at resources here

on the island and experimenting a little bit with materials I haven’t used

before.

In terms of technique I am more than happy to teach whoever is interested,

because that is how I learnt, somebody shared it with me. I want to make

sure that I do that and pass that information on. It is definitely a cultural

responsibility and its takes a long time to relise that. I am 30 and I still

consider myself a younger part of the generation, but you are always

looking up, you are looking to your older generation.

I have just moved out of a tourism focused job as I didn’t fit into that. I am

more into the anthropology and repatriation of cultural heritage. So with

my integrity in tact I am not for the quick sale of poor quality art work. As

a person that is a practising artist you have to make a conscious effort for

what you are creating and the purpose behind it. Sometimes you are sitting

on ideas for a couple of years and not just pumping art out quickly and

cheaply.

I have always thought to myself, instead of trying to look backwards

and prove what things used to be, I want to show people who we are

as Indigenous people on the Gold Coast today, to put it into today’s

perspective. Looking at photographs just triggers you to put things into

perspective. Like working families, it is not like everybody was wearing

lap-laps and doing the same dances all the time. It is about transitioning the

information that we do know and bringing that into today. So, people can

understand that, especially our youth.”

“I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT CREATING SOME NEW WORK, LOOKING AT

RESOURCES HERE ON THE ISLAND AND EXPERIMENTING A LITTLE BIT WITH

MATERIALS I HAVEN’T USED BEFORE.”

(JALUM JUNGGA) FISH NET, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT ON PAPER78CM X 58CMPhoto by Jo-Anne Driessens

1110


ANTHONY JOHNSON “When I was at school, I only went to grade seven. I was in a special class

because they didn’t expect us to get a trade, so they just taught us to be

labourers. I was really good at welding and what happened was our teacher

he helped us with welding and I liked it and I turned out to be really good.

They wanted us to make a shed for the school and we saved the school

heaps of money. They had me going to class and finishing at five then I

would go and weld, even on weekends.

Then I went to trade school in Port Headland and did more welding and I

was the most consistent welder. What they had me doing was just welding

and knocking things into shape and building trailers. I got my certificate and

there was something going at the mine, the Argyle Diamond Mine, I was

the first Indigenous person to start at that mine. I did my trade there as a

boiler maker and first class welder. I used to work from six to six and eight

hours on Sunday, seven days a week.

To me, all the years that I was learning welding techniques and there it is all

the trade secrets for the sewing machine. So I combined that when I was

doing sewing. You only use cotton when you use fabric, but it is just like the

welding rod, so I combined all that, so even when I am looking at a drawing

I want to bring it to life, get all the metal and put it together. Then the thing

with fabric is cutting out the shapes is the same thing. I liked it and just

went for it. I want to make all my own clothes, it is like a trade, I can build

my own house and make my own clothes.

I had a friend and they were doing this health promotion video and they

wanted an actor and he was my room-mate but he didn’t want to do it. See

the character he was going to play was the one not wearing a condom and

when they came around looking for him, he said tell them I am not here. So

I said he is not here and then they asked me if I wanted to read the script.

That was the first time I read a script and I said ‘yeah, I’ll do it’. Then I said,

‘so this is how they make movies’ and I loved it.

I got rejected from the fashion school I applied to. Then the Darwin Theatre

Company took me on to make costumes and they taught me to do what

they do. The first thing I worked on was Shakespeare. Back then I didn’t

know if I was an artist or what. I didn’t know what an artist was to be

honest. Then when you make things people say, oh that is art.

I would think, is it art? I thought art was only when you paint, I thought

that was art. I didn’t know that when you make clothes or films, that was

art. I thought it was just working. Now I am starting to understand that I am

an artist.

I was the first Aboriginal person to start at the New York Film Academy.

At the moment I am finishing my second year of an Advanced Diploma in

Filmaking. We will be the first lot of filmakers to graduate from the New

York Film Academy and we will be going to Hollywood.

We all speak the same language and we are all creative people. They know

what you are on about. It is hard when somebody is not an artist and you

try and tell them and they don’t know what you are talking about. But here

on the camp we are bouncing off each other and we are speaking the same

language and it doesn’t matter what area of art you are doing, they know

what it is about. I am glad I came here and had the opportunity to meet all

these other artists.

It is through this media that I can tell the story of what has been happening

to our people. We didn’t have the written history, but we have oral, pictorial

and story-telling, singing and dancing. That’s what has kept our culture

alive. By us using different media in the arts we are making it stronger

and making the wider audience see us in a different light. We are making

people better understand us and it is through art. We can make a lot of

changes and it is only the beginning.”

“...I DIDN’T KNOW IF I WAS AN ARTIST ...I THOUGHT ART WAS ONLY WHEN YOU PAINT,

I THOUGHT THAT WAS ART. I DIDN’T KNOW THAT WHEN YOU MAKE CLOTHES OR FILMS,

THAT WAS ART. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST WORKING.”


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ALICIA JONES

“I am excited because I really want to try something new on this camp.

Sometimes I feel like I get stuck in a trauma cell with my work and focus too

much on the agony of cultural experience.

One of my questions for myself coming here was, can I just make something

that is beautiful and not political? Is that possible, because I don’t know the

answer to that. I think to go out and dance on a sandbar, that is part of my

process, just to make something that is beautiful.

I consider my work performative research because research is a big part of

my practise. I perform things and I learn things and it is through performing

that I can discover what is tacit knowledge and what is cultural practice that

I didn’t grow up with.

I think we get stuck in this idea of what is real Aboriginal culture. When I

was young I remember walking through the bush with my Nan and with all

the cousins and she would tell us stories. I once felt that I missed out. But

I didn’t. So the more time I spend with other Aboriginal people I think, oh

yeah, this is pretty normal.

“I THINK TO GO OUT AND DANCE ON A SANDBAR, THAT IS

PART OF MY PROCESS, JUST TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT IS

BEAUTIFUL.”

An external perspective of growing in culture, or what is culture. I would

be honoured to be taught traditional style dance, but it is not something I

could do all the time, I have other things to say. I think it is such a hypocrisy,

the Aboriginal image that is sold internationally, yet the actual truth of the

colonial heritage is so opposite to that. When tourists come here and they

expect it and don’t get it, it must be confusing. I would love to travel and

get paid to dance, but it is a bit of a circus, a tourist circus.”

JACINDA WASHINGTON PHOTOGRAPHING ALICIA JONESSOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, 2015

ALICIA JONESKALINGA BANKS, 2015


1514


L ISA MARTIN

“My foundation and inspiration flow from my Torres Strait Island culture,

my family, my faith and the incredible natural environment we live in. Art

and biology were my passion at school so now I combine the two and this is

evident in my work.

Growing up my grandfather, Elia Ware was a very strong influence in

my life. He was a prominent Indigenous freedom fighter who fought to

bring about a Referendum in 1967 for Black Citizenship Rights. This was

for all Indigenous peoples both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to be

recognised as a Citizen of Australia and that our people had a right to

vote. Fighting for your freedom was a given growing up in our big family

and with this type of influence and strong values of stretching boundaries,

confronting what you feel is not right personally and socially and being free

have been the foundations of inspiration and encouragement in my thinking

as an artist.

In the majority of my work I will include some element of the Torres Strait

incorporating my people, our stories, our language or what things mean

in nature, for example, the changing of seasons or how we are a seafaring

people and our ancestors have navigated by the stars. The green turtle is

one of my favourite ocean creatures so it appears regularly in my paintings.

Speaking of my grandfather and freedom, I have over the past 18 years

in my art practise learned that you have got to paint from a perspective

of truth and integrity and not from what is false and not your own work.

“IT TAKES TIME TO LOCATE YOUR OWN UNIQUENESS AND STYLE, TO BE STRONG

AND CONFIDENT IN THE WORK YOU DO AND CREATE.”

What I am talking about here are artists that copy the work of other artists.

I know you can get inspired by other artists and that is OK when you bring

your own uniqueness into the work, but as far as outright copying an art

form and design then making money from it, that is not painting with truth

and has no integrity in the work.

For me when you paint from the place of truth and integrity your work will

stand longer than all the fake touristy products and artworks being copied

around us. They get their run, they make their money but they will fade

away.

It takes time to locate your own uniqueness and style, to be strong and

confident in the work you do and create. As an artist you have to stay true

to yourself, what you produce in your work and it will stand the test of

time.”

LINGERING SALTWATER, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT, OIL PASTEL, WOOL, ACRYLIC AND YELLOW OCHRE BEESWAX ON PAPER107.5 X 79CMPhoto by Michael Aird

1716


CAROL MCGREGOR

“I have never painted before and it is something that I have always wanted

to do, but I am not really that confident. So it is nice to be here with the

materials in the space and surrounded by good people to help you. I would

never have done this on my own, I just don’t have any of these resources

and the confidence to experiment like that.

It is interesting that the island has inspired this work, the ash and reeds

coming up, that regeneration. I am always looking at that, the reclaiming

and regeneration and reinvigorating culture. Those images for me are all

about what I saw on the first day walking and the reeds coming out of the

ashes. The environment has always influenced everything I have done, but I

kind of got side-tracked a bit with family history and identity because it was

the time in my life to do that.

I am always sifting through histories, looking for histories, because my

family was cut off so much from the Indigenous side of my family, when I

was growing up. I grew up in New Zealand and we mostly identified with

my mother’s family, the Scottish family. We really lost a lot of information,

like a lot of families, so my artwork has always been about this.

I have always been an environmental collecting person. My artwork started

off with seeds and natural fibres and weaving and I have moved onto other

materials and the possum skin.

“...MY ARTWORK STARTED OFF WITH SEEDS AND NATURAL FIBRES AND WEAVING

AND I HAVE MOVED ONTO OTHER MATERIALS AND THE POSSUM SKIN.”

One of the pieces I would like to do is to do some weaving with materials

from the island and some of the possum skins I have brought with me, little

pieces that I can weave in.

I want to acknowledge the country that I am working on and also bring

in who I am and the contemporary side because we don’t always live on

country and are lucky to have that experience.

The possum skin cloaks were part of my great grand-mothers country from

Geelong Victoria, and my great-great grandmother from Melbourne. So by

connecting back to her I am continuing that family line and passing it onto

my children. She was alive in the late 1800s when they were still wearing

the cloaks, in the 1870s and 1880s.”

RECONNECT, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT AND

INDIAN INK ON PAPER78CM X 108CM


1918


JASON PASSFIELD ARTWORK ON TREESOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, 2015

JASON PASSFIELD

“I have always been an artist as a child in primary school. When I was at

school I really didn’t care for maths or English and I wasn’t all that confident

about school. I used to sit at the back of the classroom and draw and get in

trouble a lot.

I tried different careers and different things, but it all led back to art. I have

met some wonderful people along the way. I have done some interesting

things and been to some great places around Australia and been to other

countries and met many other artists from other communities. I have just

enjoyed it. It has its ups and downs and highs and lows. Confidence is an

important thing. If you don’t have the confidence it can bust you. We all

need confidence.”

“I TRIED DIFFERENT CAREERS AND DIFFERENT THINGS,

BUT IT ALL LED BACK TO ART.”

Photo by Michael Aird Photo by Jo-Anne Driessens


2120


MICHAEL PHILP“I JUST WANT TO PAINT THE BEACH LANDSCAPE, THE SAND

DUNES. I WENT DOWN THERE THIS MORNING AND SAW THE

SUN COME UP, IT IS BEAUTIFUL.”

“It has been good to open my mind to some new ideas and get a bit of

feedback and see how other artists process work. For me I was getting a

bit stuck with the process for my art. Because it is pretty insular, I work by

myself most of the time. Overall I am OK with that, but it is good to be

able to work with other artists and get new information, just to bring new

information in. I feel kind of invigorated actually.

Using mixed media, I used to go ‘ooh, mixed media’ and stick my nose up

at it. But the last couple of days using pastels and charcoal, I have just fallen

in love with it. I definitely want to start incorporating pastels and charcoal

into my ideas.

The last few bodies of my work have been around saltwater, growing up

around Tweed and that. So I have been developing that for the past couple

of years. I just want to paint the beach landscape, the sand-dunes. I went

down there this morning and saw the sun come up, it is beautiful. Because

I am in Lismore I don’t get many opportunities to get to the ocean, so I kind

of miss being close to country. So being here has that same kind of feel. It

is just magic, the last couple of days.”

MICHAEL PHILP PAINTING WITH POWDERED-PIGMENT AND BEESWAX

SOUTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, 2015Photo by Michael Aird


2322


CHRISTINE SLABB

“You’re in denial for a while, because you are not confident in your work

or yourself, having that so called title as an artist.

This camp has made me get out of my comfort zone to what I am used to

doing and what everybody else likes. This has made me explore things that

I have always wanted to do.

The camp has encouraged me to create fresh ideas, while discovering

different ways to research and turn ideas into works. It has given me drive

to redevelop old projects that I have never had the confidence to produce

and exhibit. I have reached a point in time to reveal who I am as an artist

and designer.”

“THIS CAMP HAS MADE ME GET OUT OF MY

COMFORT ZONE TO WHAT I AM USED TO DOING

AND WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE LIKES.”

??CHARCOAL ON PAPER 29.5CM X 42CM

SKETCHED BANKSIA, 2015GRAPHITE PENCIL ON PAPER 29.5CM X 42CM


Photo by Michael Aird

2524

MY STORY

JACINDA WASHINGTON

“I just fell into art, first started sketching and lettering then I started

experimenting with different sorts of mediums. I love all creative techniques

and I used to write a lot too and I read a lot.

Things just changed over the years. I started to learn more about my country

where my family come from, the landscape, the South Burnett. I’ve got a lot

of family in Eidsvold and Toowoomba that is where most of them reside. I

was born in Miles and my parents moved me all over the countryside, then

when I started my family we moved all over the countryside too. I think the

Gold Coast I would have to call home, because it is the longest I have ever

stayed anywhere. I don’t plan to move.

Cherbourg, that’s where my great-great grandparents were moved to when

they were too old. Both my great-great grandparents totems were birds,

eaglehawk and owl. So I wanted to paint something with a wing. The way

I am looking at it is from beneath as if the bird was soaring above me. I just

wanted to make this wing stand out.

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE IN THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT AND HAVE THE RIGHT STATE OF MIND TO

CREATE SOMETHING. LIVING IN THE CITY IT IS SOMETIMES A BIT HARD TO DO THAT.”

You’ve got to be in the right environment and have the right state of mind

to create something. Living in the city it is sometimes a bit hard to do that.

I have done a few things since I have been here on the camp that I have

never experimented with before. Just listening to the other artists and their

backgrounds, it does change my mind about a lot of things. Not just as an

artist but as a person as well.”

RISE, 2015POWDERED-PIGMENT 78CM X 108CM


26

MY STORY

LUNCH WITH ARTISTS AND INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES

South Stradbroke Island, 2015

Exhibition catalogue for MY STORY: South Stradbroke Island Indigenous Artist Camp 2015 held at the Gold Coast City GalleryLaunched 10 September 2015

Text copyright © of the authors

Images copyright © of the artists

All rights reserved by the copyright holders

Properly acknowledged quotations may be made

Queries regarding the republication of any material should be addressed to: City of Gold Coast

Compiled byMichael Aird and Jo-Anne Driessens

ISBN 1 74057 048 0

First published 2015Designed by Katie TaylorPrinted by Print Craft

Cover Image:Alicia JonesUntitled, 2015Powdered-pigment, bees wax, ink, chalk pastel, pencil and fine liner markers on paper78cm x 54cm

28

“My story, I am reconnecting with lost stories

in my family line. So to hear other people talk

about and refer back to photos and dates and

matching them with policy and matching them

with history and documents, it just validates the

experience that I always thought wasn’t valid. I

just carried that ‘cause that is what was handed

down, that I was disconnected.

That is what has been handed down and that is

my Aboriginal story.”

Libby Harward, 2015 – South Stradbroke Island

Documents

My Story - South Stradbroke Island Indigenous Artist Camp 2015 · Teaching art to a group of adults was challenging and pushed me to remember my lessons as an art student from the