In the lecture we watched more of the program Art + Soul, this time about the artists Lin Onus, Yvonne Koolmatrie and also the works of Brenda Croft. The thing I found most interesting in this episode was when Brenda was talking about an image in a book she owns called Aboriginal Australians which depicts 10 women in a line, who are positioned according to their 'percentage' of Aboriginality. On the right hand side there stands a 'full blooded' Aboriginal, and on the left hand side a white European women. Unfortunately I was unable to find the orginal image, but it has influenced Brenda so much that she has co-opted it into some of her photographic pieces.
Don't Go Kissing at the Garden Gate, 1998 from Colour B(l)ind Ilfochrome print
She Called him Son, 1998 from Colour B(l)ind Ilfochrome print
The images are combined with old photographs of her father, who was taken away from his family as part of the stolen generation. In one She Called Him Son he stands reunited with his mother. These photographs are combined with words and the image of the ten Aboriginal to European women. The use of this image seems to suggest that this scientific analysis of how 'full blooded' is not relevant to how an individual feels, or their connection to their family.
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