Heroes of Colonial Encounters - Ballodere

Artist Helen S Tiernan (born 1952)

Date2017

Object number00055147

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 305 × 305 × 40 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionAn oil painting of Ballodere by artist Helen S Tiernan as part of a series of works titled 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters'. Ballodere is depicted here with ceremonial markings on his face, chest and arms. This portrait of Ballodere is part of Tiernan’s miniature portrait series 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters'. In this set of images Tiernan re-imagines history by recasting the status of Indigenous people of the time. Bennelong, Bungaree, Truganini, Colby, Bidgee Bidgee and Ballodere are no longer anonymous ‘Savage’, ‘Primitive’ or ‘Other’ as presented in early accounts but instead are now positioned as equal amongst others. In the context of the works they are framed and hung alongside those of such former colonial figures as James Cook, Joseph Banks, William Bligh, Arthur Philip and Matthew Flinders. By re-painting images Tiernan subverts earlier interpretations of history and the importance of Indigenous figures is accentuated by the formality and decorative excess given to their presentation. HistoryThis painting of Ballodere by Helen Tiernan is based on a portrait by The Port Jackson Painter titled 'Balloderree' painted sometime between 1788 and 1797. Balloderree is mentioned in the First Fleet Chronicles and was said to have had close contact with the colonists. David Collins, the deputy judge advocate of the new colony at Sydney, notes that Balloderree was 'a fine young man' and admired for his fearlessness. Balloderree died from an unspecified illness a few years after colonial contact. As part of a series of portraits that make up 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters', this portrait of Ballodere is part of Helen Tiernan's exploration of the singular European view of colonial history and the way Indigenous peoples are depicted as the 'primitive' or 'other'. The portraits she paints of Bennelong, Bungaree, Colby, Bidgee Bidgee, Ballodere and Tommy sees them treated equally as their European contemporaries such as Cook, Joseph Banks, William Bligh, Arthur Philip and Matthew Flinders. All portraits are to hang together on the same wall, equally ornate, equal in style and equal in history. SignificanceThis work is significant in providing a dual perspective of histories and first encounters in Australia and through the Pacific. Most post-colonial art takes its subject from earlier colonial times, but this doesn’t mean their interests are purely historical. To the contrary, the point of post-colonialism is to show how many unresolved issues from colonial history are embedded in the present.