Marking The Infinite

Marking The Infinite 

Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists From Aboriginal Australiais a visual arts exhibit hosted by The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia.  Visiting from November 1st, 2018 until March 31st, 2019, the exhibit is made up of the work of nine Aboriginal women from various locations in Australia.  This exhibit is inherently curated from a female perspective, as all of the artists, along with the curator Carol E.Mayer, are women.  The curation, as well as the artworks themselves, exude a womanly power that is both assertive and empowering.  As a collection, the paintings and drawings offer a diverse contrast of joyful and brooding colours, and at closer range, the many textures and details in the work elude to cultural references, or sacred objects. Based on the content of the paintings and their accompanying write-ups, this exhibit appeared to be connected through an exploration of land and womanhood, though this conclusion was drawn based on my own bias as a settler- Canadian. Though the artists come from different communities, they are united by their portrayal of the importance of land through an Aboriginal feminist perspective.  

In this paper I will argue that because Indigenous feminist perspectives have historically been imperceptible in  colonial settings, Marking the Infinite bridges the cultural gap between colonial and Aboriginal ideologies in an effort to create a global community by allowing viewers from diverse backgrounds to find meaning and connectivity in this exhibit.  My examination of this exhibit is by no means comprehensive, and consequently I first consider my position as a settler Canadian to better elucidate the ways in which I perceived this exhibit and biases I bring to this paper. Secondly, I will explore how feminism manifests itself within this exhibit and, for the viewer, serves as a technique of empowerment and unity.  I will then elaborate on the continued effects of colonialism and how, despite these oppressive power structures, the artists have been able to connect and preserve their culture through creative re-imaginings of tradition that serve as a form of cultural preservation and contemporary art in the global community.  Finally, I will discuss how “Dreamings”, which refer to the creation time, are used as a conduit for acknowledging different epistemologies towards land which enables viewers to find connectivity in the work despite varying world views.

As a settler Canadian living on unceded territories writing about Indigenous work, it is important that I acknowledge the context in which I encountered this exhibit.  After experiencing the show at the Audain gallery in the MOA I wondered why this space had been chosen to exhibit this work.  Although MOA's mandate has "a special emphasis on [displaying the work of] the First Nations peoples" (MOA website), hosting this exhibit in a museum rather than a gallery could potentially reinforce colonial conceptions of examining Indigenous art solely within the context of anthropology, rather than for artistic merit. This potential continuation of mis-framing perpetuates the viewing of Indigenous art in the museum as a case study rather than a display of fine art, and should be examined critically.  I come to this work with my own biases and have limited knowledge of Aboriginal Australian culture and art.  The system I have been taught for both viewing and critiquing art are rooted in colonial values which complicates my relationship with the works as a viewer. In critically engaging with exhibits such as this, I am attempting to broaden the scope and perspective of my cultural knowledge. 

In Marking the Infinitethe artists are able to express their relationship to their home from their unique perspectives as mothers, sisters, wives and matriarchs which results in an overarching matriarchal aura throughout the exhibit that is felt the moment one enters the room. I found this feminist perspective to be refreshing as it displayed a confidence and ownership of womanhood that, as a young woman, I found inspiring.  For example in Regina Pilawuk Wilson’s “Sun Mat” the artistry of weaving is translated onto a two-dimensional surface.  By creating larger-than-life sized drawings, Wilson calls the viewer’s attention to the detail, precision and labour involved in weaving, which has historically been dismissed by the art world as women’s work, and craft (Bell, 96).  Similarly, Nonggirrnga Marawili's “Larrakitj Poles” are evidence that these women are asserting their own cultural knowledge in Indigenous communities, and on the world stage.  These decorated eucalyptus trees were traditionally adorned by men, and were receptacle for the remains of family member (Wall text).  Marawili’s “Larrakitj Poles” are not intended for this use, but are objects of artistic pursuit.  She covers these poles with traditionally inspired designs and in doing so respects her community’s history while embracing her own autonomy.  By foregrounding Indigenous female knowledge, feminism exists at the core of this exhibit and sustains discussion around the roles of women as powerful matriarchs and allows other women viewers from around the world to identify and embrace their own worth and ability.

Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Sun Mat, 2015.  Photo By Indigo Porebska-Smith 

Colonial structures imposed on Indigenous groups by missionaries, bureaucrats and anthropologists considered the lives of women to be mainly profane and assumed that only men were capable of speaking for a society, thus contributed to the oppression of women as artists (Bell, 96).  However, as women’s rights become further entangled with Indigenous politics, Indigenous women have risen into the public sphere as celebrated artists (Bell, 97).  While traditionally Aboriginal men’s role in art was to paint maps of the land in ceremonial, sacred art, women were confined to painting the body (Bell, 100).  This is relevant when considering the work of artists Carlene West and Nonggirrnga Marawili.  In West’s pieces she maps out the journey her ancestors took to a vast salt lake in Spinifex, her home territory located in Western Australia (Experiment Station, 2018).  Her acrylic-on-linen renderings of her ancestors journey are representative of a silent undermining of gender roles that by virtue of their existence, encourages women to be recognized for their interpretations of the sacred through abstract maps. Conversely, Marawili paints motifs that are emblematic of sacred designs, but intentionally diverges from the sacred out of respect for Yolngu Law which prohibits certain persons from painting these designs (Wall text). By portraying her world outside of traditional parameters she frees herself to interpret a broader range of topics and motifs, while maintaining close ties to her cultural heritage. Despite the oppression endured by Aboriginal women as a result of colonialism, as well as the historic exclusion of women from artistic roles, the artists within this exhibit defy these challenges by reimagining traditional designs and stories, creating works that are simultaneously culturally relevant yet contemporary in nature. They generously extend fragments of their wisdom to the global community that allows viewers to recognize their similarities while juxtaposing their existence.

Carlene West, Tjitjiti, 2015. Photo by Sid Hoeltzell 

Throughout the exhibit references to “Dreamings” or “Dreamtime” can be found in the wall texts of the work.  In Australian Indigenous culture ‘Dreamings’ refer to the creation time when ancestral beings crossed the country, etching out the land and shaping it with their actions (Skerritt, 12).  In Marking the Infinite the works of Carlene West, Wintjiya Napaltjarri, and Angela Pwerle draw on Dreamings, literally or indirectly, as inspiration for their work. Not only does this specific inspiration give insight into the space and place in which the work was created, but the way in which such paintings are interpreted gives further clues of cultural values.  For example, as art historian and curator of Indigenous art Henry Skerritt says “if making symbolic marks is one method through which we forge a physical link between the world and ourselves, then it is also how we shape the world, or in other words, how we make our imaginaries real. This in turn impacts how we see the world” (Skerritt, 12).  In Angelina Pwerle’s series of paintings titled “Bush Plum” she uses acrylic paints and natural dyes to interpret the world.  At first the paintings appear stormy and brooding but at close range they are a seemingly endless series of white dots against a colourful backdrop. I thought immediately of the sky, or a representation of a celestial body when I first saw this group of paintings.  After reading about the paintings I discovered Pwerle used Dreamtime colours of the land to contrast the white flower of the bush plum (Wall text).  As Skerritt notes, these subjective interpretations demonstrate the different ways in which we see the world.  While I saw the sky, Pwerle saw the land in spring preparing to bear fruit. In this way, Pwerle’s work illuminates the multiplicity of epistemologies with which the world can be seen and understood, and creates a context in which they may come into dialogue with one another.  The “Bush Plum” series was not what it appeared to be at first glance, and in this way it asks the viewer to acknowledge different ways in which reality is perceived but connects us through the viewing of a unified object.  

Angelina Pwerle, Bush Plum, 2010. Photo by Indigo Porebska-Smith

Though I come to this work with a particular bias, I am attempting to critique this positionality as I situate my own subjectivity in relation to the subject matter of the exhibit.  The foregrounding of the female in this work is essential to its communicative success, and while the lingering effects of colonialism are still evident in this exhibit, the pressures exerted on Aboriginal groups has not extinguished the importance of preserving their culture.  Working outside of tradition has enabled the artists of Marking the Infinite to explore subjects previously unpainted by women, and in doing so, empower the voice of women everywhere.   The use of ‘Dreamings’ connects the cosmos to the landscape and allows ample room for interpretation from a variety of viewers.  Marking the Infinite frames the need for a diverse outlook on land and culture through a feminist lense and serves as a liaison of nonverbal communication between cultures while preserving and situating Australian Indigenous tradition in the twenty-first century.     

Works Cited

Bell, Diane. “Person and Place: Making Meaning of the Art of Australian Indigenous Women.”Feminist Studies, vol. 28, no. 1, 2002, pp. 95–127. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3178496.

“Meet The Marking The Infinite Artists: Carlene West”, Experiment Station, Published July 8 2018, Accessed March 17, 2019. blog.phillipscollection.org/2018/07/12/meet-marking-infinite-artists-carlene-west/

“Museum of Anthropology--Homepage.” Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Website, Accessed March 17, 2019. moa.ubc.ca/.

Ryan, Judith. “Nonggirrnga Marawili Lightning in the rock” Art Journal55, National Gallery Victoria, Published July 6, 2017, accessed March 17, 2019, www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/nonggirrnga-marawili-lightning-in-the-rock/

Skerritt, Henry. “Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia.”Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia, Prestel Publishing, October 11, 2016

Wall text, Marking the Infinite, Audain Gallery, Museum of Anthropology UBC, November 1st, 2018 to March 31, 2019