Land of smoke
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Non-Traditional Research Output
Original Creative Work
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2020
Location of the Work
Art Collective WA, Perth Western Australia
Research Statement
Research Background
This invitational solo exhibition is a meditation on the moment Captain James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the 29th April 1770 and experienced first violent contact with Aboriginal Australia. This profound error is symbolic of a pattern which has been endlessly repeated through history with tragic consequences for First Nation’s people and a great loss of potential Aboriginal knowledge. This encounter is paired with the endless extreme fires that Eastern States of Australia experienced in the late months of 2019 and early months of 2020.
Research Contribution
The year 2020 marks 250 years since Captain James Cook set foot on First Nation soil. This research highlights Cook’s failure of dialogue with Aboriginal Australia as being ongoing with dire consequences for Australian society and environment. For, rather than tread softly, Cook sought to dominate and impose his will over the Dharawal people. In a similar manner rather than seeking to gain knowledge of good land practice from Aboriginal Australia, in the main, mainland land management has sought to impose northern hemisphere models of farming onto Southern soil. Many Aboriginal experts such as Bruce Pascoe (Pascoe, 2020) posit that had traditional Aboriginal fire practices been maintained instead of being overlooked, then we would not be have been faced with such extreme fires in 2019-20. My artwork seeks to create a forum to enable discussion of the significance of these events.
Research Significance
This exhibition was reviewed in a national online journal Artist Profile with an extensive critical review by respected critic Professor Ted Snell.The Artist Profile a respected quarterly journal which profiles artists from Australasia region. The Art Collective WA is self-funded, run by a board of artists and a Director. The gallery has grown in prestige since opening in 2013 to work in opposition to the collapse of the commercial gallery scene in Perth from 2010.
Medium
oil on canvas
Publisher
Art Collective WA
School
School of Arts and Humanities / Centre for Research in Entertainment, Arts, Technology, Education and Communications
RAS ID
32906
Event Title
Paul Uhlmann: Land of Smoke
Event Dates
May 23 - June 20, 2020
Event Venue
Art Collective WA, Perth Western Australia
Copyright
free_to_read
Comments
Uhlmann, P. (2020). Land of smoke [Exhibition]. Perth. Art Collective WA. https://artcollectivewa.com.au/whats-on/paul-uhlmann-land-of-smoke/