Overview: Our Way, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River

"Our Way, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River," the first ever exhibition to survey the work of young Aboriginal artists from Australia’s tropical northeast, will debut at Stony Brook University on Long Island (New York) from Monday, October 8 to Friday, November 16. Hours are Monday through Friday, 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. with special arrangements available for groups.

The official grand opening of the exhibition – for which Stony Brook has the North American premiere – is open to the public (RSVP 631-632-6320). It commences at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 17, and will feature the participation of one of the Aboriginal artists whose work is featured, an Aboriginal community leader, and Sally Butler, the exhibition’s curator from The University of Queensland in Australia.

The groundbreaking exhibition, comprising 41 works which confront and break down long-held stereotypes about Aboriginal culture, will be held in the university’s Charles Wang Center on the main campus, Nicolls Road in Stony Brook. It is the first major exhibit at the Wang Center. In a mark of its importance to the promotion of contemporary Indigenous art, the exhibition is generously supported by both the Queensland and Australian governments.

"We are privileged to host this exceptional exhibition as it debuts in the U.S.," said Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny. "It offers a unique insight into Aboriginal life, from the perspectives of youths who are living that life."

The Lockhart River Art Gang
From the remote Aboriginal community of Lockhart River to the far north of Queensland's Cape York Peninsula, these artists have emerged to national and international recognition. Rosella Namok, Samantha Hobson and Fiona Omeenyo lead the movement with spectacular and diverse insights into country, culture and history. The exhibition features the fine art printmaking from the Lockhart River Art Gang's early years, along with major paintings. 

The exhibition is presented and toured by The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. A travelling version of the Our Way exhibition began its international tour in Singapore in the summer of 2007, and will move to the University of Virginia in 2008.

The curator is Dr Sally Butler, who lectures in Art History in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History at The University of Queensland. A 136-page hard-cover book of the same title is authored by Dr Sally Butler and is published by University of Queensland Press.

"Our Way, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River Way" not only reveals the strength and diversity of the art of the Lockhart River Art Gang, but also showcases one of the most striking developments in Australian Aboriginal art, ever. Youth and inherent individualism are central to their work. While their art remains anchored by an ever-strong connection to community, these co-existing qualities of youth and individualism are arguably unique in the contemporary art of remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Their art re-invents the cultural traditions of the 'Sandbeach people' of the Lockhart River region.

This survey exhibition considers how the Lockhart River Art Gang emerged from an innovative educational and vocational initiative that provided students with professional training in visual arts skills. The exhibition and accompanying book provide visual evidence of this initiative through a selection of early works based on fine art printmaking techniques. These works secured national recognition for the Art Gang and provided the basis for subsequent careers in painting and sculpture.

Cultural landscapes, social realities
Alongside these early prints, the exhibition includes major paintings by leading artists that have attracted national and international attention. The selection of works profiles the remarkable depth and diversity of talent in this small and remote community. The youthful age of the artists demonstrates a dimension of Aboriginal culture seldom considered by international audiences. The selected artworks demonstrate the artists' fusion of Indigenous and non-Indigenous visual traditions and their capacity to invent an iconography relevant to contemporary interpretations of cultural traditions.

Artworks in the exhibition tell a story of the different types of influence that the artists were exposed to, and how they translated these influences into their own idiom. The imagery gives a vital sense of their knowledge and love of 'country' and reveals how their ancestral heritage is inscribed in the character of the natural environment. Seasonal moods dictated by monsoonal rains, raging bushfires, spectacular coral reefs and tranquil bush outstations are the heartbeat of the art.

But it is with the social landscape that these artists excel. There is a deeply psychological dimension in the way they visually reflect on family relationships and social behavior. Pared-down symbols and figurative motifs represent the inherent patterns of kinship relationships and social obligations in their cultural heritage, and the spiritual presence of past generations, in their lives today. Alongside this positive imagery of aspirations and ideals, the artists also deal with more confronting themes about social distress in the community and personal uncertainties. While the art from Lockhart River has many layers of context, it remains refreshingly honest and direct in its appeal.

An important dimension of the exhibition is the unique story it tells about art and education, a story that offers a model for other Indigenous communities in similar circumstances, and potentially for Indigenous communities in other countries. The Art Gang initiative evolved out of an innovative Post-Primary program of Education Queensland, commencing in 1994, whereby students from several communities without secondary education facilities were offered an integrated education curriculum of core Secondary subjects and professional development electives. In the words of the program, students were encouraged to "develop literacy and numeracy skills through life skills contexts". This education program was conducted in co-ordination with the Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) - a Commonwealth Government Indigenous program first initiated in 1977 - in order to provide community youth with an opportunity for some form of employment while still enhancing their skills.

The Art Gang's education programs and curricula
The program included Technical and Further Education (TAFE) College subjects run through the regional Cairns campus and courses on subjects such as Horticulture, Stock Handling, Construction, Visual Arts and Culture and Artefacts. Students involved in the Visual Arts program formed themselves into the Lockhart River Art Gang, and a new era in contemporary Australian Indigenous art began.

However, one the most significant aspects of the Art Gang's education program involved a reconnection with, or reaffirmation of, their Indigenous cultural traditions. Elders of the Lockhart River community were deeply involved in this entire art and cultural process and extended their traditional role as educators into providing artists with particular knowledge and stories about people and places to that could be used for the basis of their contemporary art. The Cairns TAFE educational programs were also particularly effective in this regard and included activities such as visits to rock art sites, collating local mythological stories, and documenting language. Artworks reflecting these influences feature throughout the exhibition.

Another unique aspect of the Art Gang curriculum included a program of artist's residencies in Lockhart River, whereby leading Australian artists conducted workshops with the art students. Australia's leading printmakers were a particular feature of this program in its early years and many of the prints in this exhibition reflect their exposure to this degree of skill and expertise. Painters, sculptors, cartoonists and mixed media artists were also involved, helping to motivate a spirit of experimental individualism in the artists. 

While Lockhart River's contemporary art began with the community's youth, artwork today is produced by a diverse cross-section of people who express their 'messages' in very different and original ways. As has been the case for many years, Lockhart River's kinship distinctions are as important as the cultural and social unity brokered by a shared sense of place. It is a community of difference, and the motivation to convey a message about this filtered bond remains a particular feature of their art.

Lockhart River contemporary art will be quite spectacular and unexpected for international audiences. The degree of inherent individualism in the art, anchored by their community connections, provides a complex picture of Aboriginal culture today and demands new ways of thinking about and understanding Indigenous cultures in the twenty-first century.

This project has been supported by the Australian Government and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, Department of Education, Training and the Arts, as part of the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy; and the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA), Department of the Premier and Cabinet. QIAMEA promotes Queensland's Indigenous arts industry through marketing and export activity throughout Australia and internationally.