Beyond the frame

photo by vixendoll13

Continuing from the Art + Soul video last week, we finished the second part of “Home and Away” today. We got to see several more artists, including Destiny Deacon, Ricky Maynard and Doreen Reid Nakamarra – each bringing their own unique interpretation of Aboriginal art – whether it is through paintings and even photography. It was also touching to see how Doreen Reid Nakamarra went abroad to present her works which just shows how far Aboriginal art has progressed – from once being rejected to now, being embraced and appreciated worldwide. But what I thought was most thought provoking were the last words mentioned by Hetti Perkins at the end of the video.

At the end she asked: “So what does home mean for [Aboriginal] people today? And what does being away mean in 21^st Century Australia?”

And to this question, Tolson Tjupurula, responded:

"When you sit down without painting, you get lonely"(1)

The last words of the video I think just summed up how important art and paintings is to Aboriginal people. It is the very essence of who they are, their spirituality and their culture as well as a vehicle, as Doreen Reid Nakamarra’s success has shown, of progress in today’s society. Without a doubt, art, to Aboriginal people is more than what we often perceive it to be – to them, it encompasses something beyond the aesthetics and the frame of the image or artwork but lies deep within its meanings and the place it has in their lives. 

1. Art + Soul: Home and away. DVD. Directed by Warwick Thornton. Neutral Bay, N.S.W.: Enhance TV, 2010.