Abstract
Tony Albert is a politically-minded artist provoked by stereotypical representations of Aboriginal people and the colonial history that attempts to define him, and what Aboriginality is, in the present. Interrogating contemporary legacies of colonialism that have impacted the lives of Aboriginal peoples in his homeland of Australia, he mines popular culture imagery and art historical source material while drawing upon personal and collective histories. His talk will explore Australian politics in relation to his own art practice. Examining the legacy of racial and cultural misrepresentation, particularly of Australia’s Aboriginal people, Albert has developed a universal language that seeks to rewrite historical mistruths and injustice.
Speaker
Tony Albert has spent the majority of his life in Brisbane, but has strong family connections further north to the Girramay and Kuku Yalanji people of the rainforest region of Australia. In 2004 he completed a degree in Visual Arts, majoring in Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art, at Griffith University. His work has been exhibited and collected by major institutions throughout Australia and he is currently artist-in- residence at Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta.