In recent years we have focused on the collection of contemporary artworks by established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, such as Brian Robinson’s wall based sculpture Containment of the Seven Seas. Made of Palight plastic, enamel spray paint, raffia, cassowary feather and cowrie shells, and spanning four horizontal metres, this work presented AIATSIS’ photographic digitisation team with a challenging project: to document all seven elements of this complex sculpture, as well as capturing the whole work in its entirety.
Individual images were made of each element from the exact same angle and lighting conditions. Each element was placed on a prepared white floor with the camera above to minimise the effects of and variation in shadows. The continuity in exposure, scale and colour fidelity between the seven elements enabled a single composite image to be created in post-production that faithfully represents the entire work, viewed as the artist intended, as if it were hung on a white gallery wall.
Ancient manuscripts and rock art paintings foretell of a great event
that occurred during the creation of Earth, a time where cultural heroes travelled across a formless land, creating sacred sites and significant places of interest in their travels. This event, which marks the fifth day of creation in the biblical sense is when swarms of living creatures including a multitude of marine life and great sea monsters populated the waters of the world and birds of every kind flew across the dome of the sky.Containment of the seven seas is a contemporary retelling of this creation myth that amalgamates with the Book of Genesis, effectively layering the whole of the world’s waters with cultural nuance and deeper meaning, and empowering our ancient ancestors with the accumulated wisdom and knowledge back to time immemorial.
Brian Robinson, artwork statement, 2018