I have been doing some visual research for my Indigenous students - images that may inspire them and that they can use as visual references for their paintings. With copyright issues in mind I have been looking for practical ways to introduce them to the idea of 'combining' parts of different images, cutting, pasting and recomposing in the true spirit of post-modernist plagiarism. This raises some interesting issues related to culture and their place, not just mine, in Australia today.
Quite a few of my Aboriginal students experience shame about their culture. This is because many of the 'stolen' generation have been taught to be ashamed of it. Consequently they have not been able to pass it down to an emerging generation, many of whom now want to know about it. When they are not denying their culture, they are angry at the wadjelas who have stolen it. And when they are not angry, they are just sad.
So what do I say to them when they express this sorrow about not knowing about their own culture? I say: you are the culture - now. Who you are and how you live your life is just as relevant, there is always something worthwhile to say. And slowly we are all working together so you can reclaim some of that old knowledge.
This is the only way I can think of to work with these difficult issues - celebrating in the spirit of post-modernism, where we are all borrowing and exchanging ideas and images. The divisions between cultures is becoming increasingly murky, and although some lament this, some welcome it as a sign of a unified world. Let's hope it is.
This image is perhaps a bit obvious, but I have plagiarised my own badly digitalised symbolic message of tentative hope for the future of Indigenous culture.
So what do I say to them when they express this sorrow about not knowing about their own culture? I say: you are the culture - now. Who you are and how you live your life is just as relevant, there is always something worthwhile to say. And slowly we are all working together so you can reclaim some of that old knowledge.
This is the only way I can think of to work with these difficult issues - celebrating in the spirit of post-modernism, where we are all borrowing and exchanging ideas and images. The divisions between cultures is becoming increasingly murky, and although some lament this, some welcome it as a sign of a unified world. Let's hope it is.
This image is perhaps a bit obvious, but I have plagiarised my own badly digitalised symbolic message of tentative hope for the future of Indigenous culture.
