‘Belonging: Stories from North Queensland’ has found its home at the National Museum.

Posted on 2 August, 2022

The walls that hold 120 artworks created by 29 Indigenous artists from across the region speak a truth of Country, culture, and self-identity in the National Museum of Australia’s newest exhibition Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland. 

Each artist proudly communicates their own deeply personal stories, tightly bound to this idea of belonging—and the heaviness that word holds in Australian history.

Presented at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) (which currently nurtures over 415 artworks created by 103 artists), every piece from Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland whispers the secrets of Indigenous artists and teaches their history.

As you walk through the exhibition, you quickly face its powerful ability to reel you in —vibrant pinks, reds, greens, blues, and psychedelic swirls of mandarin and gold that are expansive, richly layered, and—at times—hypnotic. Despite how incredibly unique each piece is, they are seamlessly bound by their deep ancestral ties and the resilience that heritage inherently brings.

Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland media launch

As Mornington Island artist Dorothy Gabori stands in front of the vibrant kaleidoscope of abstract colours that make up her fish net-inspired painting, it’s clear her mother’s history pulses throughout its composition.

“When I was nine years old, my sisters were 10 years old. We went home for the school holidays, and our mother showed us this place, her birthplace. And she showed us the fish traps, and she told us the story of what the fish trap does, how it caught the fishes and the crabs. That was the way of their culture,” explains Dorothy.

Speaking on behalf of the artists and giving meaning to each piece, Assistant Manager at Mornington Island Art Centre and IACA Management Committee Member, Bereline Loogatha proudly explains how Australia’s wild and boundless character is a source of constant inspiration.

“A lot of art is drawn from nature itself. Where these guys are from—Bentinck Island—it’s very romantic and has these pretty colours. That’s where they get the inspiration from, they take these colours from the rock, and they amplify it,” Bereline explains.

Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland media launch

It’s in this colourful and mesmerising reimagining of land that their artworks move beyond the boundaries of Western constraints, from the Rainbow serpent to upside-down birds, wild sunsets, and colours that dance without the hint of refrain.

Belonging: Stories from Far North Queensland media launch

It’s their authentic and deeply personal approach that allows for this artistic healing and, in the process, the confrontation of a variety of emotions.

“It’s a fantastic medium for them to express themselves. All these guys are not influenced by each other’s art, or by society or TV, because we are so remote. And they have fun when they are doing it, there’s a lot of laughter, but also a lot of sadness,” says Bereline.

But it’s through the Hope Vale Centre’s artwork that these juxtaposing emotions truly come to life. Exploring times of war, separation and loss, with its alluring beauty Belonging hinges on its ability to evoke two emotions simultaneously—colourful joy and moments of intense sadness.

For Edwina Circuitt, Belonging project facilitator, consultant and director of Red Owl Projects, the confrontation of all the layers that exist within the exhibition have also created a sense of autonomy for the artists. Validated at the hands of the NMA, we are giving a glimpse into a fragile and profoundly poignant lens.

“I think one of the complexities in Far North Queensland is a lot of the art centres were sort of set up to be sort of like the tourist centres. So, a lot of artists were producing work for the tourist market and some of these stories wouldn’t be appropriate,” she says.

“But this exhibition was an unlocking and an unleashing. The artists were able to think that this doesn’t have to be about making artwork for the tourist market, this can be about us telling our stories. I think through that process of having such a powerful ownership of stories and wanting those stories to be heard by a broader audience helped elevate the artwork on a conceptual level, but also on an aesthetic level.”

“And Belonging wasn’t just about happy stories, it was exploring this sadness as well,”

Each of these stories now lives within an exhibition that lays the framework for the future of Indigenous art, where we can take a moment to pause and reflect upon this body of work and the powerful perspectives it showcases.

When Dorothy and Bereline walk through this space, they say that they feel like they belong, a testimony to the spirit of reckoning that ripples through this enchanted space.

“You become a part of us in that belonging process,” says Bereline.