Power of the Land

Mounted especially for the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, Power of the Land draws its inspiration and title from the statement of the great Rirratjingu artist, Wandjuk Marika (c.1927-87):

Painting is very important. It’s the design or symbol, power of the land…
The land is not empty, the land if full of knowledge, full of story, full of goodness, full of energy, full of power.

Unlike earlier regional exhibitions with a didactic bent, Power of the Land encompasses different styles, language groups and geographical regions and focuses on Aboriginal art as art, not artefact.

Power of the Land shows the diversity of Aboriginal art as a great living art form, not a succession of dead relics scavenged from a vanquished people, but a proud and defiant expression of cultural difference, continuity and resurgent spirit. Whether working in natural ochres on bark, with feathers, fibre and bush string, or decorating the door of an abandoned car with acrylic, the artists express their cultural identity, their sense of place and proclaim their Aboriginality. Art is a form of empowerment for indigenous Australians.

Sourced from Power of the Land: Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria, 1994