For yesterday & tomorrow

Smita Sharma

“I am not racist... but if aboriginal 

people could just learn to behave 

normally... and 

I’m not racist... but if only aboriginal people could just learn to live like us and...

I’m not racist... but a lot of them don’t believe in God and... 

I’m not racist... but they’re very primitive people and...

I’m not racist... but if us White people can’t hunt native animals then they shouldn’t be allowed to either and...

I’m not racist but... it is with deep and sincere regret.”

Austracism, an artwork on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, drives home the uncomfortable questions that need to be confronted; questions that bring out the fault lines in attitudes in Australia, home to the oldest living culture in the world: the Aboriginals. Austracism is among the many traditional and modern works displayed as part of Indigenous Australia: Masterworks from the National Gallery of Australia.

The exhibition, fresh from a successful showcase in Berlin, presents significant works produced by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from the late 18th century till date. Catch a glimpse of natural earth pigment and binder on canvas from Warmun in Kimberley in Western Australia to the early 19th-century shields of the Anmateyrr people in the western desert in Northern Territory to bark painting with coral patterns by the Tiwi people.

The 102 artworks on display include paintings on canvas and bark, weaving and sculptures. There are also photographs by the Badtja, Tiwi and Yulparija people and several other aboriginals. “We celebrate the fact that Australia is home to the world’s oldest continuous culture, our indigenous culture stretching over 60,000 years. I am delighted that we are able to share our indigenous culture and history with Indian audiences through this exhibition,” Australian high commissioner Harinder Sidhu said at the launch of the exhibition. Kirsten Paisley, deputy director of the NGA, that brought to India this exhibition along with the Australian High Commission, feels it will promote an “international recognition and understanding of the multi-faceted creative traditions of indigenous Australians.” The landscapes on canvas will hopefully help Indians come closer to the aboriginal bouddi (heart).

On till August 26