January 26, 2008
It's Australia day. I cannot celebrate the 220th anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet in Sydney Cove. That also means British colonization, brutal destruction of indigenous people and the racism of settler capitalism. Freedom based on dispossession and the historical refusal by many Australians who denied the right of Aboriginal people to co-exist with white settler society.
This image is by Kathleen Petyarre, and it is entitled My Country (Sandhills Utopia) Bush Seed 2004, (Acrylic on linen".
This painting is what I celebrate as it signifies the rebirth of indigenous people from their hell.
Murdock's Australian celebrates Australian values for a free market economy amongst others.
But this newspaper does not celebrate the resilience, creativity, enterprise and hard work necessary to become a successful artist who represents her country in images.
If you are going to celebrate Glenn and Jane McGrath in their successful fight against Jane's cancer, then why not celebrate Aboriginal artists making good paintings in spite of the huge odds stacked against them.
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Hear hear.