Australian National Maritime Museum – Defying Empire

The Maritime Museum’s new exhibit, in association with the National Art Gallery’s collection, Defying Empire has been on tour since 2017, marking the 50 years since the 1967 referendum allowing First Nations people to be counted as people (which many believe is the most recent advance of those rights). This is its last stop after a tour of the nation, and includes art from the past five or so years.

Using traditional and modern mediums, Defying Empire artists explore questions of First Nation identity, inward and outward. From subtle to overt, these works from 30 artists are united in a sense of culture, country and above all, the ongoing clash of Empire as an idea that has long outlived its own demise.

Several of the works confront notions of Aboriginality as perceived from the dominant culture: how an Aboriginal should look or behave to be allowed to own their heritage. Other works use traditional art to link past and present, and others incorporate present to the past. There is an underlying sense of rage – defiance – in many of the works. Powerful and understated, the cumulative effect is one of visceral familiarity and vertiginous displacement.

The theme for Defying Empire is the view from the shore, a new and needed perspective indeed.

Until Feb 7. Australian National Maritime Museum, 2 Murray St, Sydney. FREE. Tickets & Info: www.sea.museum

By Olga Azar