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May 5, 2012
This portrait of an aboriginal man is in marked contrast to Paul Foelsche's photographic portraits of aboriginal people in colonial Australia.
Gordon Bennett's image recognizes that Mabo himself is only knowable to most of us through the images and discourses that make him present in the public domain.
Gordon Bennett, Eddie Mabo, (after Mike Kelly’s ‘Booth’s Puddle’ 1985, from Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile), synthetic polymer on linen, 1996.
The partial words that frame Mabo's head are taken from newspaper headlines, a multi-layered jumble referring to the toxic environment of race relations and the complex discursive field of conflict that erupted as Mabo's claim to ownership of his customary lands in the Torres Strait was interpreted in law and subsequently legislatively enshrined in the Native Title Act.
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