'This' is Australia!, panel 5

Date2017

Object number00055895

NameArtwork

MediumMixed media drawing with graphite pencil, wax pencil, Graphic Chemicals & Ink Co. Ink, bitumen and Shellac, on a medium-density fibreboard

DimensionsOverall (single panel): 1800 × 957 × 18 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionFifth panel of a series of five boards titled 'This' is Australia!' by artist David Jones. This panel pictures a group of people near a chariot, standing on ground where there are human remains in the form of bones and skulls. Standing on the chariot are figures holding an Australian flag and a woman wearing a sash that reads ‘Australia’ as she holds a koala. There is a basket of koalas at her feet.History'This' is Australia!' was exhibited at the 'Undercurrents' exhibition run by Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. A specific exhibition giving an Indigenous voice to the year 2020 which marked 250 years since Captain Cook arrived on the east coast of Australia. The exhibition addressed the imbalance of (written) colonial history versus First Peoples' (oral) history, through a collection of works of mixed mediums. Artists surveyed the impact of Cook and what he represents to First Peoples' of Queensland. 'Undercurrents' was a platform for truth telling, from an individual, family, community or First Peoples world view. Artist statement: "Early in my art education I began utilizing visual scholarship to articulate a critique of Australian society. My identity derives from an ‘settler’ Australian heritage, and Indigenous Dalungbarra heritage. My great-great-grandmother was known as Mary Anne Dalungdalee, of the Dalungbarra, who was born at Wanggoolba Creek on K’gari, or Fraser Island in the early 1800s. My family is now included in the Butchulla Native Title Claim. My Dalungbarra heritage informs my art process and work, is the resolve that drives my visual practice. I currently operate Corvine Art Studio, in Brisbane." Significance