'Poles Apart comprises a silent, high definition video, four photographic triptychs, and a Victorian morning/mourning gown created collaboratively with Melbourne dress designer Amanda Fairbanks. In the video the protagonist, an apparently ageless, androgynous Aboriginal woman, runs through a bushfire-devastated forest. The woman wears a gown that situates her in an earlier time. ' (Source: Nicholls, Histories Repeating: Recent Work by r e a, 2009)
The works of Gamilaraay artist r e a address the historical neglect, exclusion and misrepresentation of Aboriginal Australian discourse. Two solo exhibitions in 2009 demonstrate r e a's continuing research and artistic focus on racial issues. The first, 'Poles Apart' draws on r e a's own family history of colonial oppression. r e a's second show 'HEAD ON' focuses on the historical and contemporary depictions of the Aboriginal body and the significance of Indigenous languages. 'Poles Apart' was shown at BREENSPACE, Sydney, from 3 April to 2 May 2009, while 'HEAD ON' featured at Manly Art Gallery and Museum in Sydney, 1 May to 7 June 2009. (Abstract)
The works of Gamilaraay artist r e a address the historical neglect, exclusion and misrepresentation of Aboriginal Australian discourse. Two solo exhibitions in 2009 demonstrate r e a's continuing research and artistic focus on racial issues. The first, 'Poles Apart' draws on r e a's own family history of colonial oppression. r e a's second show 'HEAD ON' focuses on the historical and contemporary depictions of the Aboriginal body and the significance of Indigenous languages. 'Poles Apart' was shown at BREENSPACE, Sydney, from 3 April to 2 May 2009, while 'HEAD ON' featured at Manly Art Gallery and Museum in Sydney, 1 May to 7 June 2009. (Abstract)
