By Frances Edmonds, Sabra Thorner and Maree Clarke (eds)
The dynamism, innovation and power of Aboriginal art from southeast Australia is on full display in a new book released by Aboriginal Studies Press
'The cover of this book tells a visual story of the rivers that connect us all. This includes past, present, and future generations of my family, the Clarkes. My great-nephew Mitch collaborated with me, creating the outline for the winding waterway.
The two red symbols depict men and women, designs I have now handed down to my nieces and nephews to use in their own art practices. The six blue wavy/rectangular shapes along the top represent different generations of our family.'
Maree Clarke
Mutti Mutti/Wamba Wamba/Yorta Yorta/Boonwurrung artist and curator.
ngargee – by Mutti Mutti/Wamba Wamba/ Yorta Yorta/Boonwurrung artist and curator Maree Clarke, long time academic collaborator Frances Edmonds, and cultural anthropologist Sabra Thorner – showcases the significance of southeast Australian Aboriginal art practices and the continuity and innovation of First Nations knowledge-transmission and culture-making across time and space.
ngargee – meaning coming together to celebrate in Boonwurrung language – takes readers through a collection of engagements between cultures: from possum skin cloak-making in modern-day Melbourne, to 19th century German paintings, to sharing the knowledge and art of feather flower-making revived in the backyard of the internationally renowned artist Maree Clarke.
A total of 24 contributors, including celebrated Victorian, New South Wales and Tasmanian artists, have collaborated on the book’s nine chapters. In their introduction to the book, the authors describe how ngargee recognises the art practice and cultural revitalisation work that Maree Clarke has nurtured and developed for more than thirty years. And how she has quickly become an internationally recognised phenomenon. This recognition is a testament to the generosity and inclusive approach Maree has adopted throughout her art practice; a process that has allowed many to experience the vitality and resilience of Aboriginal culture in Australia’s southeast.
About Maree Clarke
Maree Clarke grew up on the banks of the Murray River in Mildura and now lives and works in Melbourne. Her practice includes 3D photographs, photographic holograms and lenticular prints, as well as painting, sculpture and video installation.
The common threads running through Maree’s work are the encouragement of intercultural dialogue and collaboration on the ongoing effects of colonisation as well as providing space for Aboriginal people and communities to engage with and mourn the impact of dispossession and loss.
Maree has exhibited her work widely in Australia and overseas. Her work is held by the Koorie Heritage Trust, Museums Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia and was featured in a major retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2021. Maree has recently been appointed to design and deliver the works for a Stolen Generations Marker in Melbourne.
About Frances Edmonds
An interdisciplinary anthropologist, Frances Edmonds has worked with and in Aboriginal communities across Australia for over 30 years. Her work has focused on remote area education, native title research, and, in collaboration with Aboriginal artists, support for their reclamation of collections in archives and museums.
About Sabra Thorner
A cultural anthropologist, Sabra Thorner has worked with Indigenous Australians for more than 20 years focusing on photography, digital technologies and archiving as forms of cultural activism. She is an assistant professor at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA.
A range of digital assets including cover artwork, author headshots and internal spreads from ngargee are available from the following link.
From the Authors:
Tina Baum, Gulumirrgin (Larrakia), Wardaman and Karajarri peoples; Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, National Gallery of Australia
‘This publication is timely, an overdue acknowledgement of southeast Aboriginal Communities that recognises their stories and connections to Country through art, culture and collaboration.’
Amanda Jane Reynolds, Guringai Yuin curator, cloak maker, creative
‘ngargee – coming together to celebrate is an invitation to share in the deep love and unwavering commitment to family, community, culture and Country held by our peoples for thousands of generations.
‘A big-hearted invitation into ngurra (camp/home) by my dear friend and teacher, the inspirational Maree Clarke whose collaboration with co-editors Frances Edmonds and Sabra Thorner has created one of the most significant books of our generation.’
Contact Aboriginal Studies Press
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
P (02) 6246 1183
E asp@aiatsis.gov.au
Aboriginal Studies Press is the publishing arm of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.