Colonial Wallpapers - Mantle of Perception (panel 2)

Artist Helen S Tiernan (born 1952)

Date2017

Object number00055151

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 1785 × 610 × 40 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionColonial Wallpapers - Mantle of Perception by Helen S Tiernan, panel two of five. This painting depicts a historical view of Sydney Cove complete with tall moored ships and small stone houses. In the centre is the edge of the open cut mine depicted on panel one (00055152). The foreground is framed by vegetation but now appears the edge of a marble pedestal atop which stands a barbed wire emu by artist Laurie Nilsen. The artist Helen S Tiernan paints a panorama intermingling Australian colonial and modern references. Vast in both its geography and timelines, the painting presents mixed European and Indigenous perceptions of the land, its uses and meaning.HistoryIn this series of five panels, artist Helen S Tiernan presents the viewer with various narratives of the impact of colonization on Australia. The buildings rise from the land as symbols of power and civilization yet they are miniature and seem precarious placed in a vast and "seemingly endless landscape 'created by Ancestors'". In this panel the early European colony at Sydney Cove clings to the edge of the coast, faced with vast seas on one side or vast interior on the other. Through the panels of 'Colonial Wallpapers - Mantle of Perception', Tiernan poses the question of Indigenous Land Title and the destruction of land by European pursuits. The edge of an open cut mine can just be seen in this panel and in the distance factories pour pollution into the sky. Out on the horizon a fleet of ships suggest the comings and goings of cargos of people and goods. All this industry in the background is quietened by the vegetation in the foreground. Up here the forest is still and yet even there Tiernan indicates that no place is truly exempt from the impact of colonization. To the right of this panel, continuing on to panel three (00055152), Tiernan places a marble altarpiece. Reverent in its association with European worship, it is out of place here, cold and formal amongst the lush green leaves. On the edge of the mantelpiece in this panel, Tiernan has depicted a wire emu sculpture by Mandandanji artist Laurie Nilsen. Through his wire sculptures, Nielsen highlights the restrictions that Indigenous people have experienced in Australia as they are fenced off their traditional lands. Boundaries have been redefined and artificial areas created by barriers based on colonising needs rather than traditional laws. SignificanceArtist Helen Tiernan's painting 'Colonial Wallpapers - Mantle of Perception' is significant as an example of modern re-interpretation of colonial history from an Indigenous perspective.