Art & Culture
POWER
BRAG’s annual Noongar Country exhibition movingly reveals power and healing through artworks by local Indigenous artists. By TORI WILSON.
P
ower to Indigenous south west artists is no doubt something worth celebrating, as is the process of healing across Noongar Country, Noongar Boodja. Reflecting NAIDOC Week 2021’s theme Healing Country!, Bunbury Regional Art Gallery’s annual Noongar Country exhibition explores the concepts of power and healing through the works of contemporary Aboriginal artists. Curator Amanda Bell says this year’s theme has resulted in a strong exhibition
that’s rich in variety, with artwork mediums ranging from contemporary to traditional, bringing forth the outstanding talents of Aboriginal artists across Noongar Country. “Some speak of pain, courage and survival, some of joy, beauty and healing,” she says. “All are shared with an open heart and spirit for the community to see, and hear, and feel.” Noongar woman Katelyn Whitehurst speaks of
identity and personal truth through her piece titled The Milk to My Coffee, showing at the exhibition. Her work is a contemporary portraiture piece, depicting Katelyn alongside her father and nana, each of different skin tones. As a white Indigenous Australian, Katelyn says she’s spent the entirety of her life explaining her identity to people. “I can never forget my nana sharing her memory of coming to my pre-primary
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FOUND | Issue 07
ARTWORK IMAGES: Paul Webster
through paint
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