Broken Spear - Aquisition by Cook (diptych - spear)

Images(2)

Broken Spear - Aquisition by Cook (diptych - spear)

Artist Helen S Tiernan (born 1952)

Date2017

Object number00055133

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 204 × 1373 × 40 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA diptych by Helen S Tiernan titled 'Broken Spear - Acquisition by Cook'. This upper image of two paintings depicts a three prong spear that has been broken. The spear is a traditional Indigenous design and is hand made with an echidna tip on the end of each prong. By depicting the broken spear, Helen S Tiernan references the progressive break in Indigenous lifeways following James Cook's annexation of country (New South Wales) in 1770. The simplicity of 'Broken Spear - Acquisition by Cook' is deceptive as the images challenge the viewer to revisit and re-interpret the inevitable cultural collision that occurred between what has been described as ‘utterly incommensurable cultures’.SignificanceArtist Helen Tiernan's painting 'Broken Spear - Acquisition by Cook' is significant as an example of modern re-interpretation of colonial history from an Indigenous perspective.