'In a bold and unprecedented project, acclaimed international artist Fiona Foley curated a cutting edge installation in the University of Queensland's sandstone Great Court. Universities have traditionally been elite institutions, overlooking and undervaluing the knowledge contributions of Indigenous thinkers, activists and artists. This history is etched into the walls of the Great Court, with anachronistic concepts of humanity and racial difference revealed in many of friezes and sculptural reliefs. Fiona Foley and her team of eight Aboriginal artists aimed to challenge these concepts...'
This work is in six parts:
Part One: Architecture, Space and Possession
Part Two: History, Identity and Power
Part Three: Haunting Institutions of Settler-Colonialism
Part Four: 14 Nations: Flagging Sovereignty
Part Five: Debt
Part Six: The Blaktism
'At first, Karla Dickens' video installation The Honey and the Bunnymight look a little out of place against the timeworn friezes of the Great Court at the University of Queensland...'
'The book Courting Blakness: Recalibrating Knowledge in the Sandstone University comes as a part of the art project ‘Courting Blakness,’ curated by the artist Fiona Foley, a Badtjala artist and Adjunct Professor at The University of Queensland, and brings together works by Ryan Presley, Archie Moore, Rea, Natalie Harkin, Karla Dickens, Christian Thompson, Megan Cope and Michael Cook. The art works, the live discussions, the website documenting the project, and finally the book – which reflects upon the art works, artists, the historical context of the work and the university space, are all integral parts of the project. The project invited these artists to reflect on identity, Aboriginality, the Australian nation, Western education, and architecture in the space of The University of Queensland. The book is a collection of essays, reflections and conversations fostered by the Courting Blakness project. ' (Author's introduction)
'The book Courting Blakness: Recalibrating Knowledge in the Sandstone University comes as a part of the art project ‘Courting Blakness,’ curated by the artist Fiona Foley, a Badtjala artist and Adjunct Professor at The University of Queensland, and brings together works by Ryan Presley, Archie Moore, Rea, Natalie Harkin, Karla Dickens, Christian Thompson, Megan Cope and Michael Cook. The art works, the live discussions, the website documenting the project, and finally the book – which reflects upon the art works, artists, the historical context of the work and the university space, are all integral parts of the project. The project invited these artists to reflect on identity, Aboriginality, the Australian nation, Western education, and architecture in the space of The University of Queensland. The book is a collection of essays, reflections and conversations fostered by the Courting Blakness project. ' (Author's introduction)