Indian Head - Cloud / Car

Artist Euan MacLeod

Date2013

Object number00054573

NamePainting

MediumAcrylic on paper

DimensionsDisplay dimensions: 535 × 730 × 40 mm
Overall: 535 × 733 × 40 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA painting titled 'Indian Head - Cloud / Car' by Euan Macleod depicting a car on the beach in Fraser Island, going towards Indian Head. The Butchulla People are the traditional owners of K'Gari (paradise) and in 2014 a Federal Court ruling granted native title rights to its Indigenous people. The ruling recognised the World Heritage-listed island's Indigenous heritage of the Butchulla people. 'Indian Head' was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on the evening of 19 May 1770 and saw Butchulla people. In this painting the Euan Maclead notes the old mixed with the new. He reflects upon the objects introduced into country through European contact. These introduced objects intrude on the rich Butchulla culture held within the land and the sea. It reflects upon things being bought together but not quite fitting in with each other. HistoryThis work by Euan Macleod was produced for East Coast Encounter, a multi-arts initiative involving Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, writers and songwriters to re-imagine the encounter by Lieutenant James Cook and his crew with Indigenous people in 1770. Cook's voyage along the Australian east coast has become central to national historical narratives. The East Coast Encounter project asked artists to re-envisage this seminal journey by imaginatively exploring moments of contact between two world views during these encounters. It also brought these events into the present by incorporating artists' reflections on their relevance today, and their responses to visits to significant contact locations. Topics such as encounter, impact, differing perspectives, nature and culture and views of country are investigated.SignificanceThis painting by Euan Mcleod gives a contemporary perspective on first contact and the impact of European colonisation. The painting, as part of East Coast Encounters, is a voice in a shared story, re-imagined by Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, to encourage cultural dialogue and promote reconciliatory understanding.