www.qagoma.qld.gov.au Listen to Tony Albert's artist talk at the opening weekend of '21st Century: Art in the First Decade'. Albert's practice reveals his interest in mass-produced products from Australia's history and what these say about dominant beliefs. By collaging, sculpting and transforming images, brands and texts, Albert succinctly reframes modern Indigenous Australian history through its representations in 'kitsch' material culture. His work 'Sorry' 2008 was inspired by former prime minister Kevin Rudd's formal apology to Indigenous Australians on 13 February 2008. On this day, Australia witnessed one of its most overtly optimistic displays of unity and emotion and, in the eyes of many, grew up.
Capturing this outpouring of emotion in his work, Tony Albert introduces us to a forest of faces, each of which shares a history with those stolen from their people, land and culture. Each also represents a false identity; a manufactured black face made to fit a white society. By collecting and reintroducing these so-called 'kitsch' items into the world as 'Aboriginal' art, Albert affords each object a new and different life in the company of kindred souls: his practice is a liberation.
Tony Albert, Australia b.1981, Girramay people / 'Sorry' 2008 / Found kitsch objects applied to vinyl letters, 99 objects / 200 x 510 x 10cm (installed) / The James C Sourris Collection. Purchased 2008 with funds from James C Sourris through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / © The artist
Summer 2010--11 marked the end of the first decade of this millennium, the Gallery presented '21st Century: Art in the First Decade' from 18 December 2010 -- 26 April 2011.
19 дек 2010
