BENGALURU: Despite inhabiting the region for 65,000 years, Aboriginal people now make up only 3.2 per cent of Australia’s population. Not only do they track below the majority of socioeconomic indicators but they do not even find mention in the country’s 122-year-old Constitution.
To recognise these Aboriginal people (also called the First Nations Peoples of Australia), a referendum is supposed to be held later in 2023 in Australia which would alter their Constitution by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. While the conversation has been gaining momentum in the last couple of months, the Australian Consul-General for South India Sarah Kirlew is set to present ‘Jarracharra’, an exhibition of textile works by women First Nations artists from Bábbarra Women’s Centre from May 16 to 25 at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur.
For the uninitiated, Bábbarra Women’s Centre is collective to support the lives of Aboriginal women in the community of Maningrida and its surrounding homelands. They tell the ancestral stories of their history through contemporary mediums. Giving us an insight into the works, Kirlew says, “The exhibition includes a range of colourful screen-printed textiles created by women First Nations artists from Bábbarraa Women’s Centre. Their work pushes artistic barriers to depict ancient narratives through contemporary mediums. Their designs tell the ancestral stories of their West Arnhem Land cultures.”
The exhibition aims to highlight the importance that Australia places on its First Nations cultures as an integral part of the country’s national identity. It has been displayed in leading galleries globally and comes to town after a tour of Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. For the first time, the exhibition includes new pieces and woodblocks developed collaboratively after artists from the Babbarra Women’s Centre visited the Tharangini studio in Bengaluru earlier this year. The new textiles combine traditional Indian woodblock carving with indigenous Australian designs. Among the items on display is a sari made of Indian silk, printed with indigenous designs. The exhibition also includes some woodblock prints on paper.
So, what kinds of stories will these works of art narrate? Kirlew takes us back in time to explain. “Important stories are often told through the use of symbols or iconography. For instance, a curved U-shape is widely used to symbolise a person because it represents the shape left on the sand when a person sits down. The earliest forms of Aboriginal art were rock carvings and paintings, body paintings and ground designs. Placing the art on canvas began about 50 years ago.
Today, the art is done on a range of mediums and in this exhibition, on textiles,” she said, adding, “Much of contemporary Aboriginal art is based on important ancient stories centred on the ‘Dreamtime’ – the period in which indigenous people believe the world was created. Stories about the time have been handed down through generations.”
Another vital concept for First Nations Australians is their connection to their country as a source of spiritual, cultural and physical sustenance. The themes of the work inspired by this concept include natural features like plants, animals and rivers. People from the culture use their art as a form of political
expression as well.
What does ‘Jarracharra’ mean?
‘Jarracharra’ is the name given to a distinctive cool wind that blows across Arnhem Land in Australia’s far north in the dry season. The arrival of the wind signifies the beginning of a period of exchange between clans and an annual ceremonial coming together. The wind has brought people together for ceremony, dance and ritual for tens of thousands of years.