Daniel Boyd

Reading the extract 'Cannot buy my soul' from the book 'Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial' I was intrigued to look up the works of Indigenous artist Daniel Boyd from the descriptions of his appropriations. The text describes the work 'King No Beard' which is a direct appropriation of a portrait of King George III by Nathaniel Dance (1773). King George III was associated with the early days of Australia's colonisation, and the painting refers to this by replacing the gold orbs on the necklace with gold skulls. Also included in Boyd's work is a self portrait in the form a depacitated head in a jar. This is a reference to '18th-century Dharug/Dharuk resistance leader Pemulwuy', who led uprisings against the colonisers before eventually being caught and beheaded. His head was bottled and sent back to England as trophy. The inclusion of a parrot on the figures soldier suggests that King George suggests his true status as a thieving pirate, who robbed the Aboriginal people of their land and way of life.

'King No Beard', Daniel Boyd, 2007

'Portrait of George III' Nathaniel Dance, 1773

Some other works I researched include 'Governor No beard' which also uses pirate emblems, a parrot and eye patch, to suggest the figure is a thief. Boyd re-appropriates images which portray these men in power as 'heroes' to reveal the truth behind the colonisation of Australia.

'Governor No Beard' Daniel Boyd, 2007

'We call them Pirates out here' again shows the colonisation from the perspective of the Aboriginals, who see the colonisers as villians, not noble figures.

'We call them Pirates out here' Daniel Boyd, 2006

Another work by Boyd I found that i really liked was 'Fall & Expulsion' (2006), which is below.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Spirit in the Land

The Spirit in the Land exhibition currently on display at the Flinders City Gallery features a range of works relating to the Australian environment.

"Spirit in the Land explores the connection between eleven Australian artists, historical and contemporary, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and their special appreciation and engagement to the spiritual ethos and power of the land."

The majority of the works represented the Australian outback as a dark isolating place, as was discussed in the tute, which can be seen in the works by Russell Drysdale and Sydney Nolan. This theme is also seen in the work of such Aboriginal artists such as Rover Thomas. Here in 'Bedford Downs' (1984) the representation of the landscape is also dark and threatening but is not figurative; and rather is painted in the abstract style of traditional aboriginal art. Thomas "combines an aerial and profile view of the enormous space and landform once used for farming, hinting at a tragedy that Thomas fully fully explores in another painting titled 'Bedford Downs Massacre' 1985."

The Crow Trap, Russell Drysdale, 1941

'Bedford Downs', Rover Thomas, 1984

One artwork which stood out from the depictions of a harsh threatening land was 'Kame Colour II' by Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Kngwarreye is from Alhalkere which is home to her people the Anmatyerre and the Yam Dreaming. As such she is a custodian of the Yam Dreaming and knows all parts of and the growth cycle of the atnwelarr pencil yam. Kngwarreye paints all parts of the yam in her painting 'Kame Colour II'. She calls this way of painting 'whole lot' and uses it to "describe the physical, cultural and spiritual associations of her country in the one painting". This painting stood out for me as it depicted a vibrant expressive image of the Australian landscape, in contrast to much of the darker works in the collection. The pictures twisting lines almost seem to come to life.

'Kame Colour II', Emily Kame Kngwarreye, 1995

Source: 1