Cirrus@Austlit

'Portraits of Australian Aboriginal women have historically reflected artistic styles, changing perceptions and the unique characteristics of the individual artist, but it was not until the 1950s that Aboriginal women began to be presented by Australian portraitists in a more humanistic and holistic way. In the 1960s, a shift took place in the way Aboriginal women were portrayed, when the Australian artist Margaret Olley [1923-2011] focused upon Aboriginal women differently. She imaged Aboriginal women in terms of painterly aesthetics, ignoring the societal, racial and historical meanings that could have been symbolically attached to her imagery if she had chosen to do so. This article focuses firstly on Olley’s contribution and its interpretation by the Gamilaroi art historian, Donna Leslie. It then extends the investigation of Aboriginal women's portraiture in contemporary Australian art through the exploration of a select group of paintings by the portraitist Julie Dowling (1969-), of the Badimaya people of Western Australia. This article is written by an Indigenous Australian author.' (Publication abstract)

'As a young Australian artist, Tim Johnson sought to look beyond the world he knew and was familiar with into mysteries that naturally come with things foreign. He wanted to explore what it was like to exist beyond the margins of his known world and to reach into alternative spaces that interested him. This book documents his spiritual journeying and creative explorations. In 1980, Johnson's encounter with Aboriginal artists in the deserts of central Australia revolutionised his entire approach to art and life. In 1982, when he learned of the existence of the ancient medieval Buddhist cave temples of Mogao at Dunhuang in Western China, the experience also set his imagination aflame. The caves were an inspirational oasis of spirituality on the Silk Road and another powerful artistic expression in desert country. These two spiritual and artistic traditions inspired the path Johnson was to take over the next four decades. Over time his work expanded to include references to Japanese, Tibetan, Native American and a range of other sources and influences. Today, as a veteran artist, he has created an imagined universe abundantly informed by influences and ideas.' (Publication summary)

'Dad and all the old people say theres a Bunyip in the river but Ive never seen her. Ive been looking for ages. Each month for a year a young girl checks the bend in the river. The seasons change, but there is no sign of the Bunyip. Are her family gammin her, or does the Bunyip really exist?' (Publication summary)

In this retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story set in Aboriginal Australia, the White Rabbit becomes the Kangaroo 'not, it should be emphasized, because there is no Pitjantjatjara word for 'rabbit', but simply because an Aboriginal Alice would naturally have seen a kangaroo in her dream.' (viii). Similarly the Red Queen is the Witch Spirit and the Caterpillar becomes a Witchety Grub while the Queen's Croquet Party becomes the Corroboree of the Witch Spirit. ('Introduction to Alitji' in Nancy Sheppard Alitjinya Ngura Tjukurtjarangka=Alitji in the Dreamtime (1975): viii).