My works are symbols of the changes to contemporary Indigenous visual storytelling, as celebrated now: That the boundaries between European schools vs. Indigenous art, can look as varied as bloodlines now are. Yet, as artworks, the hangover of markets viewing traditional Indigenous works as [expensive] 'native curiosities' still lingers. Especially to do with artworks stemming from regions like Cape York Peninsula, where contemporary expressions (which don’t present as, inherently traditional, Indigenous works of art) are relatively new to the contemporary Indigenous art sector — let alone broader arts industry.
In spite of the changing face of the Australian ecological/societal landscape, our works are still expected to reflect our ‘ancientness’, which is a mode of racism; racialising an aesthetic of who are now mixed-heritage, domestic diaspora. As the oldest living Cultures on Earth, our diversified creative influences and artistic identity is as determined as our ongoing survival.
- Jack Wilkie-Jans
In spite of the changing face of the Australian ecological/societal landscape, our works are still expected to reflect our ‘ancientness’, which is a mode of racism; racialising an aesthetic of who are now mixed-heritage, domestic diaspora. As the oldest living Cultures on Earth, our diversified creative influences and artistic identity is as determined as our ongoing survival.
- Jack Wilkie-Jans