Oppression, repression (family portrait)
2004
Medium
glass, tin, inkjet prints
Measurements
(a-b) 21.9 × 9.6 cm diameter (overall)
(c-d) 20.6 × 10.9 × 9.6 cm (overall)
(e-f) 22.2 × 9.7 cm diameter (overall)
(g-h) 22.2 × 11.1 × 9.8 cm (overall)
(i-l) 21.0 × 9.7 cm diameter (overall)
(m-n) 22.0 × 9.7 cm diameter (overall)
(o-p) 18.3 × 9.7 cm diameter (overall)
(q-r) 19.3 × 11.2 × 9.7 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Judith and Leon Gorr, 2010
© Yhonnie Scarce, courtesy Dianne Tanzer Gallery. Photo: courtesy the artist and dianne tanzer gallery + projects
Gallery location
Gallery 4
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
Multidisciplinary artist Yhonnie Scarce often references the ongoing effects of colonisation on Aboriginal people, specifically her ancestors, family and Country. Oppression, repression (Family portrait) is a signifciant early work by Scarce that includes eight archival black-and-white photographs of different generations of her family, each placed in a separate glass jam jar and sealed with a lid. On top of each jar rests a delicate hand-blown glass bush food that represents intergenerational family connections and the continuation of culture. In this work, Scarce highlights the deeply disrespectful and exploitative history of ethnographic photography, cropping the photographs to redirect the viewer’s gaze and honour her ancestors.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Adelaide, South Australia
Accession Number
2010.313.a-r
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation