Heroes of Colonial Encounters - Colebee

Artist Helen S Tiernan (born 1952)

Date2017

Object number00055143

NamePainting

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 305 × 305 × 40 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA painting of Colebee by Helen S Tiernan part of a series of portraits that make up 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters'. Colebee is depicted here wearing ceremonial body and face paint. This painting of Colebee by Helen S Tiernan is based on the 1791 portrait by on the convict artist Thomas Watling.HistoryColebee was at Manly Cove with his contemporary Bennelong when the two men were captured by Lieutenant William Bradley. Bradley was under orders from Governor Phillip to imprison two local men with the aim of learning what they could about the language and people of the area. If the prisoners were able to learn English then they could also act as facilitators between the two groups. Colbee escaped English captivity 17 days later but Bennelong remained prisoner for six months before he too escaped. Colbee and Bennelong continued to have regular interactions and dialogue with the English over many years to come. The colonists recognized that Colbee and Bennelong were important leaders in their community. As part of a series of portraits that make up 'Heroes of Colonial Encounters', this portrait of Colbee 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.