‘We don’t do dots’: Art Styles, Cultural Assertions and Prescriptions in Far Western New South Wales
Lorraine Gibson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Museum
This paper offers an ethnographic exploration of what is considered to be Darling River art, or more specifically Barkindji art, why this matters and to whom it matters. Focusing particularly on the period from the 1980s to the present I look at the increasing interest in art making by local Aboriginal people in the Wilcannia region. Through a dialogue with artists, artworks, and others, the work considers the changing forms, designs and content of art and the performative role of art in matters relating to notions of identity and tradition. The constant invocations by cultural brokers to produce work that is seen to ‘belong to us’ is considered in terms of the cultural, political, economic and personal work that this involves for artists, particularly as these intersect with artistic freedom and marketability. The paper discusses the personal considerations and tensions that come to bear in processes connected with the production and control of art designs and content for those who identify as Barkindji. In so doing, this paper engages with and extends the work of Tacon et al. 2003, Cooper 1994, Kleinert 1994 and Morphy 2001 as this pertains to art ‘styles’ and material culture from what is widely referred to as south-eastern Australia.
